The Weight of Being a Man

Continuing from my previous post, the second lesson I learned on my drive to Michigan was the weight of being a man. (As a note, there is "weight" in being anything involving responsibility and is not necessarily gender specific.)

Preamble

A few weeks before the drive the Michigan, I drove to Montreal for one of our dragonboat races. Despite my fatigue, I managed to power through with the help of friends singing, playing random games, laughing, and lots of ice and coffee =)

What startled me was that I could barely drive much during the Michigan trip. My dad drove the majority of the trip. I would go at spurts of an hour, barely holding on. Eventually my dad told me to just relax and he'll take over.

The mystery of being a man

How were both these cases different? It wasn't that much farther to Michigan. Mind you, we were driving to Michigan in the late evening, whereas the Montreal trip was around noon. Nevertheless, in both cases, you noticed that there is a certain edge that comes from being a man (or being the defending champion, etc).

When I drove to Montreal, and when my dad drove with me, both my dad and I bore a greater responsibility for those we were driving. Even if we were tired, we had to drive. And because we had to, we did.

The Weight of Responsibility

You may have heard of swordsmen who have weight behind their strike. In one instance, a samurai said that the extra weight comes from his heart - because he is fighting for a higher cause with strong belief. He has to defend his family. His homeland. His friends. His pride.

You can think of countless other analogies. I have to pick up this weight (barbell) or it will crush me. I have to finish this race since others are depending on me as a pace rabbit. I have to keep driving since my friends (or son) is in this car.

Too often, we live our lives with little weight or urgency. We move through life slothfully, settling for much less that we are capable.

The handful of men and women who assume responsibility, the few who give their word and keep it, these are the leaders of tomorrow. And these people are not leaders by birth, but by choice. By making consistent choices, step-by-step, that shape who they are.

After all, we are a product of our choices. And even if you have a history of bad choices, you can make small choices in the opposite direction.