Honor--what is that?

As I was walking the beach I bent down to pick up a beautiful seashell called the spiny jewel box.  It has little spikes on it and this one interested me because it was slightly larger than most that I have seen so I decided to make it mine. When I turned it over I was totally surprised to find that someone had written the word in orange in a beautiful box print “Honor.”  My first thought was: “I wonder what it means” but then my daughter who was walking with me said—It means what ever you want it to mean.  It is for you.  I was intrigued by her words and then thought—of course, I found it so why not see what it represents to me. My first realization was honor yourself.  In other words, be happy and content being you; as I continued to walk I felt those words take hold of me as I repeated them over and over again in my head—“Honor yourself!”

A smile came over my face as I allowed those words to sink in—yes, Joan Marie, honor yourself for who you are, for what you do and what you believe.  Honor yourself for all of your gifts and accomplishments and be proud of who you are.  That simple seashell got me thinking in a good and positive way.  So my question to you is:  If you found a small treasure with a word inscribed on it like ‘Honor’, what would your response be?  How do you perceive you?  Do you believe in yourself, your talents and abilities and how do you honor you? 

To honor yourself means to show respect to you, to pay attention to your personal needs, to feel happy and satisfied for what your life represents to you and possibly to others, not in an arrogant way but rather in a humble and sincere fashion.

In times past, it was the manly thing to do to defend your honor.  Men fought for it and even died for it but over time its meaning and appreciation of this word has been ignored, feared and suppressed.  Even schools and some of our students have ditched the concept and replaced it with self-serving minimum standards in the name of personal survival.  The word honor is universal to both men and women and its value is determined by how one adheres to its principles.  In times past, early societies took that word quite seriously and used it as a moral code that governed its people and leaders.  People were expected to act and live with honor; it was a motivating tool that brought the best out of people and encouraged them to seek to perform for the best of all in their society.

Honor is the moral fiber that holds people and societies together for the good of all.  Its threads are far reaching and when it is weaved into your personal life, you tend to bring its meaning and purpose to all those who are within your sphere of influence.  How a parent perceives honor will very often be the same standards that their children will adhere to yet the threads don’t stop there.  They can and must be woven into all corners of society if we want to thrive and prosper.  The stronger the fibers and principles are for any group of people the stronger they are as a whole individually and collectively.

So it brings me back to my original question to you: “If you found a small treasure with a word inscribed on it like ‘Honor’, what would your response be?”

Joan Marie Ambrose

Author, Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker