[Loch-soilleir] March Question Of the Month

[Michael Silverhands]

On Feb 22, 2007, at 12:47 PM, Tunello, Alyssa wrote:

> What is one life lesson that you have learned in your SCA journey and
> how has it affected your mundane life?
>

I like Alexis' response. :-)

Hmmm... having a hard time narrowing it down to one... I'll just list  
several. Feel free to take to heart whichever one(s) resonate with  
you, assuming that any do.

* "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." (Plato)

* Be proud of your accomplishments and confident of your abilities,  
but don't become over-proud or over-confident. No matter how great  
you think you are, there's something out there to humble you... often  
of your own doing.

* Remember that you aren't any better (or any lesser) than the person  
next to you, regardless of who's been playing the longest or has the  
most awards. You may be further along your journey than they are, but  
that doesn't make you any better than them (or vice versa).

* Share the stage. There are plenty of parts in this play for  
everyone. Don't hog the microphone/camera/footlights/whatever.

* Corollary to the previous lesson: when someone else is having their  
moment in the sun, *let them*. Don't horn in on it. Don't jump up in  
the middle of what is most likely someone's most important court  
event ever, just to draw attention to yourself. No matter what your  
ego might be telling you, you aren't doing honor to them (especially  
if your song/story/toast/whatever is longer than anything they had  
planned to say or do), you are just showing everyone how egotistical  
and thoughtless you are. (This is actually a lesson that someone else  
taught me by their actions, but I try to remember it just the same.)

* Be gracious and generous, but not to the extent that you let your  
own (family/household/whatever) down because you overextended  
yourself trying to be gracious and generous. Be kind, but know your  
limits. Delegate, or recommend someone else who could help if you can't.

* Work hard, but have fun. Do things that give you joy. Life is  
finite. Don't spend it being miserable, if you can help it. (This is  
perhaps the most important lesson listed here.)

* Or, consider the thoughts of Marcus Aurelius. He was one of the  
last Roman emperors before it fell. He was the supreme leader of most  
of the known world at the time, and it *wasn't* a Democracy. Still,  
he was a deeply thoughtful, philosophical and compassionate man:  
"Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a  
violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried  
away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away  
too. ... Soon you will forget the world. Soon, the world will have  
forgotten you. ... Do not act as if you were going to live ten  
thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in  
your power, do good." (Marcus Aurelius, 160 A.D.)

I learned (ok, am still learning) all of these lessons because of the  
SCA, and they have all stood me well in mundane life (when I  
remembered to apply them). I hope that some of them are helpful to  
some of you.

Michael