|
"Let prudence direct you, Temperance
chasten you, Fortitude support you and justice be the
guide of all your actions." This, we tell all initiates
into our fraternity.
Of the above qualities, FORTITUDE strikes
one as that which really helps a person in facing difficult
situations that may crop up virtually every day.
What is fortitude?
Fortitude means moral and physical
courage coupled with conviction. To be unflinching and
to persevere till the end.
It is an active virtue and not a passive
one.
Fortitude is in not only putting up
with adversity but in transforming the adversity into
triumph.
There was a farmer who had an old mule.
The mule fell into a deep dry well and began to cry
loudly. Hearing his mule cry, the farmer came over and
assessed the situation. The well was deep and the mule
was heavy. He knew it would be difficult, if not impossible,
to lift the animal out. Because the mule was old and
the well was dry, the farmer decided to bury the animal
in the well. This way he could solve two problems. He
could put the old mule out of his misery and also have
his well filled. He called upon his neighbours to help
him and they agreed to help. To work they went. They
started filling the well with shovels full of mud. The
mud started to fall on the mule's back. He became hysterical.
Then all of a sudden an idea came to the mule. Each
time they would throw a shovel full of mud on his back
he would shake it off and step up. Shovel full after
shovel full, the mule would shake it off and step up.
Now exhausted and dirty, but quite alive, the mule stepped
over the top of the well and walked through the crowd.
This is fortitude. To transform adversity
into triumph. And a mule has shown us the way !
Once we develop this quality of fortitude,
we are no longer buried in the well. We are back on
our feet after any adversity.
Such is the 'support' that FORTITUDE
gives us and thus a guide to all our actions.
^TOP
|
