Honor in Daily Life

Honor is a forgotten trait in daily life. Most individuals move from one day to the next never realizing the import of such a trait. Nor do many understand the word, its meaning. Today we see a separation between classes; we see broken families, children trying to grow up without a father figure and mothers losing hold of their sense of self in an attempt to be both parents. We see companies grow into emotionless corporations that only feel a need to feed on profits, forgetting that individuals were what created the growth in that company to begin with.

Honor consists of at least four traits: respect, sense of duty, loyalty and integrity. Respect is for all things, living and dead, young and old, manmade and natural. Respect includes the respect of self. If the action does not better us, how can we have respect for ourselves?

The sense of duty is to everyone and everything around us. Commit to creating a positive influence. Put others before yourself. Make lives you affect better each day. And if this is done a sense of pride follows that duty completed.

Loyalty is a touch choice. Each of us can find something or someone to place our loyalty with. The difficulty is the integrity of the individual or entity that individuals place their loyalty with. Not every endeavor is positive. Not every individual is worthy. Not everything deserves an individual's loyalty.

Integrity is the bond for all the other traits. It is the gauge of all things, all people. Integrity is the most difficult to see and understand for it is the moral fiber that is within us. Every person holds to an individual moral standard and cannot see what lies within any other.

If we are to see a change for better in our society, we need to see a reintroduction of honor into our core beings. Honor will heal because honor is a commitment to the betterment of self. It is thru ourselves that we will see a betterment of all around us. Honor holds us responsible for what we say. It is the bond between word and deed. It is the sense of doing right when wrong is the easier path. It is the belief that we are better than simple animals. To return to our greatness, we need to find our honor once again and put the commitment to honor to the forefront of our daily lives.