Day 7: Protect This House
We’ve all been entrusted with responsibility for different things in this world: marriages, jobs, children, educational opportunities, friendships, mentorships, as well as everyone’s responsibility for caring for their own body, mind, and soul. As the first week of my 30 Days of Discipline drew to a close, I’ve found that this process has made me think about those things, my responsibilities, more than I have in the past.
Making a few little changes in your life can add up to a big shift in how you live your life, particularly when those changes disrupt your comfort level in a pretty substantial way. Breaking up old patterns and bad habits is never easy, but it’s less so when your sole motivation is to benefit yourself. For me, thinking about my “house,” protecting my house, has been the thing that gets me up at 4:51am full of piss and vinegar ready to take on the day.
Let’s be real though. I’m not trying to take on the mantle of hero with this whole project. I’m not trying to toot my own horn or trumpet my “virtue” to the sky. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, it’s been a challenge to continue to post and talk about this experience, because to me, it’s always been difficult to share so much about myself publicly, and with this project it is unavoidable that I am making myself the story. In the past, that sort of thing, from other people, has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Also, compared to the challenges that many people face in their lives, what I’m trying to do is child’s play.
I hope you believe me when I say that I do not want to be the story, but instead, I want to tell a story that inspires others, particularly men, to be all that they can be, through sharing my brokenness, challenges, and victories. Too often in this world, we can drown in despair and hopelessness because we think that we are alone. You are not.
Getting back to PROTECTING THIS HOUSE, yesterday, we looked at the first of Stephen Manfield’s four maxims for achieving true manhood. Today we look at Maxim #2:
MANLY MEN TEND THEIR FIELDS
Your “field” is the territory that you have been given in your life. Your “field” is your “house” (not just your physical house, if you’ve been blessed with one), but all the things in your life that you are responsible for.
“The key to powerful manhood is that a man fully owns — takes responsibility for, tends, stands guard over, assures the healthy condition of — the field assigned to him . . . a man takes responsibility for his field — even if this field is only a dorm room, an old clunky car, a suitcase full of clothes, his studies, and an occasional date. He mans his zone because he knows it is his job as a man. He also knows, though, that when a man tends his field, it leads to a bigger field.” ~Mansfield
Your field may grow as time passes and you show that you can be trusted with the territory that you’ve been given. I think it’s important to note that that’s not always the case, the author isn’t promoting any sort of “prosperity gospel,” instead he’s just saying that when you work hard in life and show that you can be trusted with a little, then sometimes that leads to more.
So, WHY does a man do these things though? What is the motivation for tending your field?
“[A true man] mans his zone out of love for those who have been entrusted to him and the calling of God. [A true man] takes responsibility for the field assigned to him because he knows this is what he is put on earth to do.”
As time has passed, I’ve been blessed with a bigger field than I could ever deserve. Everything I’ve received is through the grace of God. To roughly translate from Christian-speak, the grace of God is God choosing to bless us with entirely undeserved favor rather than giving us what we deserve. I was born in the richest country in the history of the world, in a time of relative world peace, to a stable two-parent family with brothers and sisters, and grew up with food on the table and surrounded by love. At this point in my life, I have a personal relationship with Jesus, and go to a church where the Gospel is preached every Sunday without fear. I have a roof over my head, a job, friends and family, a wife that I love so dearly and who loves me back, and a little one on the way. To have Jesus alone would be a life immeasurably blessed.
The lesson that I see from this is that complaining should never be an option or a reflex, but instead I should see the comforts and stability provided by these material blessings as a firm foundation from which I can use all my energy in a positive way to pour out the love that has been shown to me back into others and the community.
Day 7 was a good day. Every day I draw breath is a good day. Day 8 is the start of the 2nd week, and the beginning of another week of the Spartan workouts. I’ll be sharing more of the workout plan as the week progresses. If you got this far, thank you for reading. Stay tuned tomorrow as the story continues…
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Quote of the Day
Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.
~Anthony J. D’Angelo
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Links to Past Episodes/Resources:
Day 2: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”
Day 5: Taking Matters Into Your Own Hands
Manfield’s Book of Manly Men: An Utterly Invigorating Guide to Being Your Most Masculine Self
If you have any feedback, please send me a message or leave it on my Facebook page.
This is a new project and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Encouragement and criticism are always welcome.
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