Note To Self II

What exactly is a Man, anyway?

I'm not actually that sure anymore. Recently I read the self proclaimed Greatest Page in the universe; by a guy who also wrote a self parody on Manliness (soon to be released, already a big hit, apparently). The blog itself is a farce of course. Yet it touched a few nerves. Notably, what makes this guy feel manly is being identified as the following, pirate, lumberjack, astronaut, players and you can guess the rest.

It amuses me that the state of Manliness has been reduced to this. Chasing tail, lifting things, beer, the absurd. It scares me that it's often not even a joke, but something ingrained into the psyche of the people. Not that I don't see the appeal of adventurers and handy men, but I thought we've long gone past that. Past even the point where the antithesis of such men are nerdy fixers of the technological kind. I too admired james bond, but as a child. When I realized that nowhere on earth is a 24/7 Monte Carlo casino, such illusions drifted away. So then, the question remains, what is a man? what thinketh the man? if anything at all...

So this is what I've come up with since childhood, in my deluded dreamscapes. A Man is strong and perseveres under duress. I've never cared to be a javelin tosser trying to hit a moving boar at 50 yards. Strength is... doing the right thing. Strength is conviction in one's beliefs without being dogmatic. Strength is Knowing what to believe in the first place.

Just looking that I find it a terrible definition. I'd probably have to include Dubya as a man with a definition like that, so maybe I need to preface this series of qualifiers with a slight intelligence standard. The ability to enunciate the word "nuclear" will do. Well that about cuts the field in half doesn't it...

But back to the point. I've thought a man should have a single-mindedness about him. No goal is too far away, and no point trivial in its pursuit. For a man is reasonable and resolute, knowing that reason is what he has above animals. So I suppose the knowledge of the self and the awareness of repercussions is a prerequisite. So in this way do I rule out idiots of hedonistic variety. To give up the spiritual in term of material comfort is insulting to the introspective man. And to say introspective is a qualifier again, cuts the population down to size...

I fear that I may be falling into a trap here. To define what a man is based on what I think I am would be a waste. No one can objectively describe what qualities they themselves lack, yet I'd like to try anyway...

A man should always live by his principles. To know what is important to him beyond the needs which keep him alive. The world is not a man's enemy but only materials to bend to his will. This life is so short and sometimes hardly qualified, but a Man should always be able to see the beauty within it, just like he should be able to see it within himself.

The conviction of a man's beliefs should lead him to be strong in mentality. I think this takes faith, since in this day and age complexity seems to turn up in every field. There's really nothing complex about being a man. Everything should be simple. Know what you want, and get it. Fail and die, but if it's a goal worth pursuing, it would be a good death, befitting a good life.

Actually, that wasn't so hard. I think that about sums it for me. Just these few things. Know yourself, which leads to principles to live by, stick by them, make use of the world as presented to you, waive not in your convictions, and don't bitch. Everything else is just peripheral.

hmmm, do I fit? well I can definitely be better. ha

But if even Aurelius can be thankful of what he's learnt late in life, so can I.