Doug: From My Father Learned

From my father I learned. My surname is Wood, and my father fits it. From my earliest memory he has been strong as Ironwood. They say that fathers will always be giants in the eyes of their children. I believe this is so. Indomitable, unwavering, and patient, my father is the heart tree. The dynast of all other trees in the forest.

From my father I take Strength, Patience, Honor. I learned to be still, and strong, and silent and in that silence find the wisdom to listen.

From my brother I learned. His surname is Hanssen, Son of Hans. His ancestors tamed the seas and built trade routes. Burned villages and saw foreign shores. From my earliest memory he has been restless. Yet his restlessness means more than an inability to sit still. His is an ability to dream of something and realize it. He sees what he wants and takes it, crossing oceans and continents to do so. But his goals are mere air and sand. They interest him not. It is his journey that matters, not where you go in life but the story you weave while going there. My brother is like the water, a well of a thousand stories and adventures.

From my brother I take Restlessness, Adventure and Accomplishment. I learned to dream and tell stories, and in those dreams and stories find my own goals and reach them.

From my mother I learned. My mother’s surname is Persons, and it means little to me. Her given name describes her better. Eve. Eve took the apple because she wanted to know good from evil. From my earliest memory my mother has taught me right from wrong. My mother is the hearth fire, without her the home is not. My mother taught me to love others, to believe the best in man even when they prove you wrong. My mother taught me empathy, to make my loved ones pain my own, and in doing so lessen theirs. My mother taught me to be human.

From my mother I take Empathy, Kindness, and Family. I learned that no man is below me, and to make those that deserve it my family, blood or no.

From my friends I learned. I learned things innumerable. Their names are Legion, their traits as vast as the stars. I will name some closest. From the Queen’s daughter I learned the power of God, and the meaning it had for others as well as me. The power of belief is a force of nature, and even when brought low one can find some meaning. From the father of nations I learned acceptance of things that you can change, and things that you can’t. I learned that there are some people that will stick by you until the end. Not because it’s the right thing to do or even the smart thing to do, but it is what you choose to do. From the Pearl I learned consideration. There are a thousand paths in every moment, but what you choose has meanings beyond yourself. The Pearl has shown me this in ways she can’t imagine, and I thank her for it.

From the Princess I take Faith, in all its power and danger. From the Father I take Loyalty, in all of its weakness and strength. From the Pearl I take Consequence; in all of its unknown and known forms.

From peace I learned. I learned that one day I’m going to have to beat this sword into a plow and let someone younger do the fighting. Before I knew peace I didn’t know that I could ever want to do that. Peace taught me that life was worth living and worth protecting. Peace can be left behind, but never forgotten. These are the things that peace taught me.

From peace I take Love, and don’t regret it for a second.

These among others have made me. Love, Loyalty, Consequence, Faith, Kindness, Family, Empathy, Restlessness, Adventure, Accomplishment, Patience, Strength, Honor. Shards of a mirror, facets of how I came into being. They exist in me because others have taught them to me, and for this I am eternally grateful.

I will take your lessons, your knowledge.

I will use them for good.

To this I swear my Sacred Honor, from my Father learned.

-Doug