Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Promise, Motto, Oath - do you have one?

As some of you are aware I am very active with Scouting. My son is 10 and has been a Cub Scout since he was in the first grade. He will be moving into Boy Scouts come this May and I will stand by and support him if he wants to achieve his Eagle Scout award.

Last night I had a bonus Scout night. I was honored to be part of an Eagle Scout Board of Review panel. This is where a boy has come to the end of his journey in Scouting - or atleast where he is being taught - now he needs to go out and do the teaching. One of the highest honors a Scout can achieve. I have sat on two board of reviews since May and have enjoyed meeting the Scouts and seeing them achieve a huge goal. (I know that Bruce can relate to some of this - wonder if he has been on a Board of Review - he being a blogger involved in Scouting, too). 
Eagle Scout Logo

As I sat in this Eagle Board of Review I heard this in my head... 

Cub Scout Motto

DO YOUR BEST

Then I heard this.........

Boy Scout Promise

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.


Which in turn then made me think of the conversation I had with another Scout Parent the other day. He said - "Why is it, that when I look at many of our Trainers, that are teaching us to lead by example, and then you think of that last line in the Boy Scout Promise, that some of our own leaders are not following the promise?

I didn't get the impression he was directing that comment to me, as he had just come back from a full day of training and was talking specifcially about his leaders at that recent meeting. I was not hurt, but curious about his comment. Heck, he said that he kept that last line in mind when he recently dropped 25 pounds. So...

Am I doing my Best?

Am I physically strong?

Am I mentally awake?

And will that all help me to be morally straight?

I do have good morals - that I know and there is no hesitation to that fact.

Mentally awake - I am not so sure lately. Think there is a block in the mental aspect of my life. Searching for answers, wondering, pondering and just contemplating what the next move in my life will be like? Where is this weight loss journey taking me? Will I enjoy it? Am I ready for it? I can say yes, but I think there is a fear deep down in the pit of my stomach. What that fear is, I am not sure.

And physcially strong - well, I for sure want to be there. I want to hike with my Scout, I want to camp and not have any health issues that hinder me from doing all that my Scout is able to do. 

If....

I do my Best

I will be Physically Strong

I will be Mentally Awake
 
If it takes a Scout Promise and Motto to kick me into gear, to help me lead myself down the right path, to help me lead my son in the right way to be, act and show respect then I am proud of what Scouting is doing for both of us.

Do you have a Promise - a Motto - A Oath? Do it everyday!! Make it work for you!!!

Staying MOtivated MO

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I have helped out on Board of Reviews before (not for Eagle, but some of the other advancements though). It's interesting about your post because last night we had a Court of Honor and it was fun as Scoutmaster to hand out about 30 merit badges and 6 rank advancements to 5 Scouts. I also had another older Scout come up to me after and ask what it would take to get his Eagle. It was a great payoff.

I really enjoyed going to my son's Eagle Board of Review and working with him. Your approach of helping but not forcing is just right. It takes a parent/guardian, leader and the boy himself to progress so great job in supporting your son!

Karen@WaistingTime said...

My oldest is an eagle scout:)

Parry Peach said...

Very nice post, Mo, and a simple, but powerful motto you've adopted for your goals. I love it! Jackie

Anonymous said...

I love that motto and I think it is a great thing to recite and think about every day. Thank you for posting it.

I saw an article about a survey of kids that found that children rarely consider the right and wrong of things and haven't any real concept of morals. It sort of scared me. But I know a few scouts (namely my nephew) and I think between the sort of parent that might encourage scouting and the scouting, they turn out fine kids.

I hope that survey was bunk.

Dawn said...

My Motto is in latin ....and I LOVE it. ....."Ut Semetem Fekaris Eta Metes"
from the Roman Emperor marcus Titus Cicero. People often mistake it for a biblical quote but it isn't.
In English it means..." As you have sown, so shall you reap"
I use it to try hard to live treating others the way I would like to be treated ...and allowing life to deal in its own way with those people who are unkind or selfish.It keeps me in a positive place and helps me to let go of things that upset me
Dawn

Michele said...

Excellent post. Love that line about being physically string. Yep, I lost that way back when. But am looking to find in. No motto for me: just eat less and move more. Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Mine is very simple... "Sweat once a day". Once I keep that mastered for a while, I can expand. For now, it's been working! :)