"Manners are of more importance than laws. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in." - Edmund Burke I remember wondering why manners were so important as a child. It was easy …
Tag: raising children
The Spirit of the Method
The old and familiar maxim: "Knowledge is Power" shapes the way we look at education, marketing, politics, religion and many other areas of human activity. The idea that knowledge begets power is based on the limited view that humanity is meant to dominate his environment, rather than have dominion over it. Domination is established through …
The Ascending Spiral
There exists a remarkable parallel between raising children and schooling horses. Both horses and people move through a period of intense physical development in their youth, followed by mental and emotional growth and maturation. Handled rightly, this process oscillates back and forth between tension and relaxation. In the moment it might feel like you are …
A Sustainable Legacy
To be a successful father, you must keep two thoughts in the forefront of your mind: 1) do all within your power to leave the world in better condition than you found it and 2) strive daily to leave to leave better children for the world. Both are necessary to leaving a sustainable legacy of …
Making it Manageable
“If our education had included training to bear unpleasantness and to let the first shock pass until we could think more calmly, many an unbearable situation would become manageable, and many a nervous illness avoided.” ~ Claire Weekes In a world where most people are not consistently giving their highest and finest you are bound …
Where I grew up we didn’t…
You've no doubt heard conversations in which people define themselves, defend their positions and deride others with the statement "Where I grew up we didn't..." What follows is usually some anecdote that serves to make a point which carries the weight of precedent and by extension, history. While it is certainly true that you are …
On Parenting and Flying
"Prepare for the unknown, unexpected and inconceivable . . . after 50 years of flying I'm still learning every time I fly." ~ Gene Cernan I've learned a great many lessons as an aviator over the years, all of which have left me a better pilot. What I didn't expect, however, is that those experiences …
On Parenting and Falconry
While I am inclined to favor the cultivation of personal responsibility over the imposition of regulation, I cannot help but note the irony of the fact that to practice the sport of falconry you must first obtain a license that comes only on the completion of a challenging and comprehensive written examination and a two …
A Foundation in Truth
I saw a great many castles while traveling through Europe during my youth and one in particular caught my fancy. Pictured above, the Neuschwanstein castle ("New Swan Rock") is a magical edifice built upon Swan Rock, a massive stone outcropping overlooking Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwestern Bavaria. A powerful symbol for a life built upon …
The Hungers of Life III
"There are times in the life of all when, weak and worn with the struggle, the ebb-tide of hope seems to carry out with it all inspiration, all impulse, all incentive. In the darkest night of a great loss, a paralyzing pain, or a voiceless grief we seem to lose our very bearings on life, …
Gregory Hake 