Honor By The Wayside
I want to begin by saying the very first word in the title above is not used much these days – hasn’t been for a long time. It was pretty extensively used, and hugely popular for millennia through the 19th century – then it kind of fell by the wayside into the twentieth. And we’re sailing past that by six years now, and counting.
Now for the opposite: there is a lot of talk about that in our world without ever using the word.
Global Dishonor That word is dishonor.
A close associate of mine used that word not long ago, and I was struck by the thought that although there is a lot of related commentary inferring dishonorable behaviors present in the global political world in the media concerning all societal organizations, somehow “honor” and all its derivatives has been kind of deleted from our common vocabulary.
Why, I wonder?
The Path of Right Relationships
So I thought about honor and what it means to me. What came up were other words like honesty, integrity, character, service; and phrases like “taking the high road” by doing the right thing, being willing to be held accountable, keeping one’s word as a binding contract.
My next thought was that honor is the necessary link to establish and participate in “right relationships” with ourselves, others, and environments.
The Original Meaning of the Word “Sin”
Then I thought, so dishonor involves the opposite of all the descriptions of the preceding paragraph. “Sins” could be the inference there.
The original meaning of the word “sin”, by the way, comes from a Hebrew word that means “missing the mark” – in other words, a mistake that, as far as I understand through the characteristics of honor and dishonor, results from both a lack of willingness and awareness.
Acknowledgment Supports Honorable Choice-Making
That consideration led me to in turn consider that acknowledgment supports honorable choice making and responses in our lives.
Please note, given the obsession and ceaseless delusional chasing after dictated perfection in our culture – “perfect” isn’t required or possible. Intent is, just as it was understood to be the directive rather than the dictate in choosing honor rather than dishonor a hundred years ago, when these words were still part of our vocabulary.
How Your Life Could Change
Would your life change in considering your behavior in this way? Your choices . . . ? Your relationships . . . ? Your reality . . . ?
Its a cleaner opportunity to more comfortably and profitably live with, I believe, and certainly a spiritually responsible one, which provides tremendous freedom and corresponding opportunity to create and evolve.
The Hard Gift You Can Give Yourself
These are the invisible directives of me continuing to return to a gage that surfaced nearly a decade ago which moved me, kicking and screaming, to feel the only viable choice I had (didn’t want) to make was initiate a divorce: being able to look myself in the mirror.
It was a hard gift I insisted on giving myself, but I knew then, as I know now, that there was no other way to survive, and I would be held to it.
Sink Your Teeth Into What Is Real
Interesting, I’m finally thinking, that this word “honor” used in what has, in related context, been described as “gentler”, more polite times, is a hard gift that brings anguish and sacrifice.
You know, it might be even more demanding than that “must be perfect” dictate currently in fashion in our world – but at least it is real, and we can sink our teeth into it.