During a break in our training at Galahad Command - those hectic days before we left Earth seem so long ago - several of us were sitting on a hillside outside our dorms. None of us wanted to say it aloud, but we were trying to absorb as much of the blue sky and fresh air as we could before…
Gap was doing his usual good job of making us laugh. At one point he said something that none of us got right away. But about three seconds later it sank in, and we all busted up again. I don’t remember what it was about now, but I do remember that Gap called it a ‘joke grenade.’
“It’s a joke that you have to think about,” he told us. “And then, BAM! It’s a joke grenade”
As I get older I realize that a lot of the wisdom that my dad shared with me is like a grenade, too. At the time he told me, it didn’t always register. But then, as time passes, and as I experience more of life, it suddenly goes off.
Here’s one example that comes to mind. I remember Dad talking to me about character. He told me his favorite definition of the word: “Character is doing what’s right when nobody is watching.”
At twelve I think I barely grasped what he meant, but as I mature a little more it begins to make sense. From observing others I see how people sometimes mask their true character in front of others. That’s often why we’re surprised by them later. We only see what they want us to see, and we do the same to them. We’re all actors, in a way.
Our character - including our values, our beliefs, our ethical qualities - simmers behind the curtain. I think I not only needed to witness this in others, but I had to mature a bit more before I could see it in myself, as well. My character is shaped not through what I want people to see, but through what goes on within my heart.
As with so many others things that I’ve begun to recognize in this last year, it’s obvious that Dad could lob his share of wisdom grenades.
(Now it’s your turn, Galahad fans. Think about that definition of character; do you see how you might - or might not - pass the test of having a “good character?” Do you find yourself only doing the right thing when other people are looking on? What if you took the next few days to quietly observe yourself and your actions. What do you think you might discover? As with all of Triana’s Journal entries, you’re invited to share your thoughts. And thanks for visiting Club Galahad!)