There are two groups we get placed into based on how we approach life. We either approach situations with "black & white" thought process or our thoughts are a little more blended in which they fall into "gray" decisions. What happens though if our decisions are black & white at times and gray at other times? Does this mean we are just lost in life or does it mean we created a "charcoal" group of thinkers?
Recently I've spent a fair amount of time doing that thinking thing again. Thinking or reflecting can be something that proves difficult or painful to engage in. I don't fault anyone that chooses not to reflect back on past experiences in their life. It can be one of the most emotionally challenging experiences we as humans may have. That business they call “emotion” can be a dangerous territory to enter into, so tread lightly! Much to my chagrin, I choose to reflect back on experiences I have had. I keep telling myself the big guy above must keep giving me interesting life experiences for a reason and I’ve learned I better listen if He's talking. Recently my reflection has been centered on a man very dear to my life and many others, including the cattle industry. The many memories and thoughts I had led me to this box we put ourselves in regarding how to think. The man in my life was a true role model. What made him such a good role model was his code of honor. Three words which we don't hear too often these days. I got to thinking about discussions we'd had recently on how he lived his life. It seems folks can always think of experiences and examples of day to day life with someone. However when my family combined all of our memories of life with my father we had only one result. Our memories were not really of actual events or stories, our memories were of the man that he was, the man he grew in Christ to be and that was a man of honor.
Honor might imply perfection; however perfection is the farthest thing from my thoughts. Honor is something much deeper, honor is making tough decisions, the decisions you either face head-on or cowardly run away from. Honorable people face those decisions that often result in taking the more difficult path because it is the right thing to do rather than taking the easy way out. They are the black and white decisions of wrong verses right. A true man of honor however, knows that living a life only in black and white might not always be the right thing. Sometimes in our lives decisions require compassion or more often they require empathy. The world around us likes to put people in a box and makes folks uncomfortable when they cannot seem to fit everything into that box. Our world cannot wrap its mind around someone doing something against the grain, especially if it involves morals or values. Instead we learn being black white in our moral decisions is wrong or close-minded. Growing up, here I had always thought black and white meant sticking to your personal beliefs and ethical code or “sticking to your guns” as I prefer! Just when I wrapped my head around the world wanting me to think grayer and just blend in better, it changed the rules. Now, I learned that being “gray” can imply wishy-washy, flaky behavior; someone ready to lean whichever way the wind blows. Now I was stumped and didn’t know what to think. I thought adding a little gray to my palette meant that sometimes not every situation I would face could be handled the same, I might need to add some heart to the equation.
It seems I had figured out the exact situation that millions were finding themselves in. Across the nation & world, today's population is at an all-time low of not sure what kind of decisions to make anymore, often they just let someone else decide for them. We are surrounded by a new acceptance of folks just sitting on their thumbs waiting for the world around them to decide how they should think.
I do know that I am still quite capable of making my own decisions: black, white, gray, pick a color. The decision I was quickly able to make was my thankfulness for the 25 years I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by a man with honor. His honor gave me an example of living life that was far different than what the world tells us every day. All this reflection over recent weeks led me to a final decision that it is okay to be more of a charcoal thinker, I could blend my solid black & white values with some gray based thoughts every now and then, end up being exactly the person God meant for me to be. I was confident in my thoughts because I had been influenced by a strong, self-assured role model that had conviction in his every decision. When the world told me it's not "cool" to go after your passions, not okay to befriend the person that didn't fit into a mold, or remain ethical no matter the cost; someone else in my life showed me differently. As humans we all struggle doing the right thing all the time and we always will as perfection is out of reach. However, if we keep people around us that live to a similar code of honor, we should be just fine.
As we in this industry face each day, let us remain holding tight to our code of honor. Every day seems to get more and more difficult to live as cattlemen in this world, let alone as cattlemen with honor. Are we going to take the easy way, no matter how unethical or deceitful it is? Or will we take the more difficult road, remaining true to what we know is right? My hope is our industry remains true to what has been instilled in us as the right thing to do. Do not listen to world's voice inside your head telling you nice guys finish last. Nice guys will always finish first at the very end of the race, their perseverance and endurance of remaining honorable puts them ahead when it matters most. Our industry is up against the grayest of gray thinkers every single day. Many out there do not have personal values anymore or have their own true opinions. Let us continue thinking outside the box, while bringing black & white values with us every step of the way. If we are able to remain open minded enough to adapt to situations that block our path, yet remain strong enough in ourselves to not get lost along the way, we will be able to finish first when it truly matters.
