The best men help others become better.
When you interact with wise men one of the things that I notice is that they help people become smarter, more confident, or more skilled at a task. Not like a father, but like a caring friend. I am sad to say that in my life I have only had a handful of men who cared for my well-being. It is rare to find men who truly care about others.
To stand out among men all you need to do is to be kind and care. I remember when I was a teenager I did reporting for the local paper. I talked with one local business owner to get a small donation of sand for a kid’s project, and he was very generous about it. I did a story on his business that was related to a local disaster and I got to know him pretty well. He was a friend of my dad’s so he felt pretty comfortable with me.
Why am I telling you all this? To set the stage for what happened next. He was in charge of a local snowmobile club and invited me to go snowmobiling with his club. I talked to my dad about it and went. He truly was a kind man who had only the desire to show me something new that I hadn’t experienced before. I trusted him and the day was lots of fun.
Rarely do you get the chance to form the bonds that once were common long ago? When we were just a village, we depended on others. It was kindness and trust that make our society thrive. When we help others we strengthen not only the fabric of society but our own happiness and joy in life.