Quote:I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.

Susan B. Anthony

(05-29-2018, 11:28 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: This will sound corny, but my "words to live by" come from something I used to recite in Scouts. The Scout Law is important, and it is something I try to live up to, but the Order of the Arrow provided me the quote. When you join the OA, there is an Ordeal weekend, which is bookended by ceremonies that tell a fictional tale of the origin of the organization. I was one of the principles (characters) in these ceremonies for a time, I was Meteu, the "medicine man" or shaman. My part in the final ceremony in which new members were inducted was to tell the Legend of a young warrior giving of himself to serve his fellow man and his father, the chief, forming a group of brothers around this act of noble courage.

Anyway, the line from the chieftain as he creates the brotherhood is: "For, said he, who serves his fellows is, of all his fellows, greatest!"

The premise of the organization is this line, service above self. The OA was an organization that I really got involved in and it is what kept me involved in Scouting, but were it not for the ideals instilled in me through my experiences with them, I wouldn't have the devotion to public service that I have today. I really feel like my role as Meteu and not just saying that line, but really taking it to heart, made me who I am.

So yeah, probably a bit more than you expected as a response to this, but I got nostalgic writing this.

(05-29-2018, 12:12 PM)GMDino Wrote: That's interesting.  I find it funny though that they have a "fictional" tale about their origins.  Is there an explained reason for that other than it sounds better than "we sat down and decided we needed a new group"?

(05-29-2018, 01:37 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: "You'll never see a dinosaur waving light dumbbells around, as if he was trying to fly like a bird." -  Brooks Kubik, The dinosaur training method

(05-29-2018, 04:43 PM)Sabretooth Wrote: Two things that will define you,
1.Your determination when you have nothing
2.Your attitude when you have everything

(05-29-2018, 04:58 PM)treee Wrote: "The character of greatness is not only defined by the route you choose to reach your goals, but what you do once they're reached."

(05-30-2018, 08:29 AM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: "I thought I was wrong once, but it turns out I was mistaken."

(05-30-2018, 01:52 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: To live, is to suffer,
But to survive, well, that's to find meaning in the suffering.

(05-30-2018, 10:28 AM)fredtoast Wrote: DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.


That pretty much covers everything.

(05-30-2018, 10:49 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Paraphrase:  You can tell the character of a man by how he treats someone who can do absolutely nothing for him or to him.

(05-30-2018, 01:47 PM)Millhouse Wrote: