Odds Are, You Lack this Virtue Seldom Encouraged in our Society Today - Do you agree with me?

A humble man is also meek. But a meek man is not a timid or cowed man ... a meek man is a strong man, for he ... has power over anger induced by self-love and pride. - G.C. Dilsaver, The Three Marks of Manhood, page 79

What if I told you that almost everyone who talks about being a warrior or a protector gets this point wrong? Many who claim to be warriors do not espouse the virtue of meekness. Alas! To their great detriment! This quote by G.C. Dilsaver captures why it is folly to not espouse meekness. For a meek man is able to conquer anger. Why is this important to you? Have you ever ruined a relationship or a situation by being unable to control your anger? I know I have. 

Meekness is an antidote to pride. Meekness is also connected with self-control which is of great importance to the warrior. Being able to subject your body to the mind, or as some in the warrior community phrase it, "keeping a cool or level head" is vital to survival in bad situations. 

Emotions are a beautiful thing - they give life zest, enjoyment and fulfillment. But oftentimes, if they are left to themselves, emotions can get you killed. This is why self-control, which I simply define as the ability to do what you tell yourself to do, is crucial. But how does one keep a level head in a fight? 

Like many things, the battle for level-headedness isn't won in the moment. It is won in the preparation. Just like your training - the time to train is before the bad situation, not during or after. Likewise, if you would have self-control, practice meekness now. 

If you are someone who usually angers quickly over small things, how will you expect to stay calm when dealing with big things? Start to gain self-mastery now by forcing yourself to be meek in the small things. When someone is annoyingly tapping their feet next to you, acknowledge it, actively choose to ignore it and move on. Rather than quickly spouting off, "Can you please stop tapping your toes!" mentally acknowledge it and then move on and be silent. 

Do you think in a fight everything will go as you plan? Do you not think you will be annoyed or distracted or besought with multiple stimuli? How will you train to handle that chaos? Practice calmness and meekness now in the small things; teach your body who is in charge. 

When you are fighting, and you are injured, exhausted or emotionally traumatized, your body will want to quit - it will want to give up. How have you trained yourself up until that point? Do you control your temper or does your temper control you? If you are a slave to your impulses now, why do you think it will be any different on the battleground? 

Remember, ALL grounds are battlegrounds, you are never off the battleground, so you might as well get used to controlling your impulses and becoming master over them. Because you never know when you will be called to fight, called to protect, or called to handle a crisis or violent situation. Therefore, I beseech you, train now! 

Training is not just done in the gym, it is done on the battlefield of virtue. Today, find one way you can practice meekness. Meekness is the epitome of true strength for what is a greater measure of strenght than your ability to control yourself?

Live in the battleground,

Alex Lanshe

P.S. My new book will be released soon and it deals solely with the virtues of a warrior and protector. If you would like to receive updates about the book, when it will be released, etc. Share your information in the contact form below. 

Virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle