Summer Cottage 3

...by Thomas Kinkade:

Related links:
Summer Cottage part 1, part 2

Rules for a Knight

Solitude:
Create time alone with yourself. When seeking the wisdom and clarity of your own mind, silence is a helpful tool. The voice of our spirit is gentle and cannot be heard when it has to compete with others. Just as it is impossible to see your reflection in troubed wter, so too is it with the soul. In silence, we can sense eternity sleeping inside us.

Humility:
Never announce that you are a knight, simply behave as one. You are better than no one, and no one is better than you.

Gratitude:
The only intelligent response to the ongoing gift of life is gratitude. For all that has been, a knight says, "Thank you." For all that is to come, a knight says, "Yes!"

Pride:
Never pretend you are not a knight or attempt to diminish yourself because you deem it will make others more comfortable. We show others the most respect by offering the best of ourselves.

Cooperation:
Each one of us is walking our own road. We are born at specific times, in specific places, and our challenges are unique. As knights, understanding and respecting our distinctiveness is vital to our ability to harness our collective strength. The use of force may be necessary to protect in an emergency, but only justice, fairness, and cooperation can truly succeed in leading men. We must live and work together as brothers or perish together as fools.

Friendship:
The quality of your life will, to a large extent, be decided by with whom you elect to spend your time.

Honesty:
A dishonest tongue and a dishonest mind waste time, and therefore waste our lives. We are here to grow, and the truth is the water, the light, and the soil from which we rise. The armor of falsehood is subtly wrought out of the darkness and hides us not only from others but from our own soul.

Grace:
Grace is the ability to accept change. Be open and supple; the brittle break.

Patience:
There is no such thing as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A hurried mind is an addled mind; it cannot see clearly or hear precisely; it sees what it wants to see, or hears what it is afraid to hear, and misses much. A knight makes time his ally. There is a moment for action, and with a clear mind that moment is obvious.

Justice:
There is only one thing for which a knight has no patience: unjustice. Every true knight fights for human dignity at all times.

Generosity:
You were born owning nothing and with nothing you will pass out of this life. Be frugal and you can be generous.

Discipline:
In the field of battle, as in all things, you will perform as you practice; so practice hard. With practice, you build the road to accomplish your goals. Excellence lives in attention to detail. Give your all, all the time. Don't save anything for the walk home. The better a knight prepares, the less willing he will be to surrender.

Dedication:
Ordinary effort, ordinary result. Take steps each day to better follow these rules. Luck is the residue of design. Be steadfast. The anvil outlasts the hammer. 

Speech:
Do not speak ill of others. A knight does not spread news that he does not know to be certain, or condemn things that he does not understand. 

Love:
Love is the end goal. It is the music of our lives. There is no obstacle that enough love cannot move. 

Ethan Hawke - Rules for a Knight
(picture by Shropshire)