The True Meaning of Brotherhood

Rich Moore, 2003 National Vice Chief for the Order of the Arrow, shares his thoughts on brotherhood. Click here for the whole letter:

"...we commonly use this word "brother" in our Order, but what does it mean? Why is it that the chief addresses us as brothers? Why is it that we feel the way we do, about these people that are not even related to us? I suppose it all started when we stepped forward and chose to undertake that Ordeal. That Ordeal weekend, we spent a great amount of time cheerfully serving our camps and communities, cheerfully serving each other. As the day progressed, we started to think differently about one another, we began to feel true brotherhood. That night we were bound together in this brotherhood, and then we heard, at the end of our Ordeal ceremony, an exclamation from our chief: "My Brothers!!! I congratulate you..." Is this what makes us brothers? "


When my wife and I moved to San Diego we had no family and no friends here. We were on our own. And we felt it, too. Starting over. But what makes your brother your brother? Is your brother your brother just because you share the same parents? The article above says it well: your friends become your family through the spirit. We're attached to each other through our spirits and attitudes, through our experiences together. The bond of brotherhood is enhanced when you experience hardships together, work through challenges together. This is where the sum of your abilities becomes greater than the individual parts.

Five years after moving to San Diego my wife and I are martial arts instructors. We still technically do not have any family here. But what we DO have are brothers and sisters, cousins, and mothers through the students we work with. We have closer relationships with some of our students than with our TRUE brothers and sisters. The Order of the Arrow allows you to have the same experience. The Ordeal will tie you to each other forever, so long as you maintain the relationship. The Brotherhood will confirm your commitment to the ideals of the Order of the Arrow. Your Vigil, the most important, is about self-discovery and will anchor your spirit to your true path. The bond you will have with your Vigil Brothers will be beyond words...it really shouldn't even be discussed with another person...it's the spirit of the thing that will tie you together. The depth of understanding yourself.

See you at the top!

Sensei Brian

How's Your Attitude Eagle Scout?

Clay Capp and Riley Berg, the 2002 National Chief and National Vice Chief, respectfully, composed a great letter on the role of cheerful service in our lives. Click here for the entire letter:

"...step back for a moment and think about the role cheerfulness can play in our lives. It, as one of the three tenets of our Order, does not diminish the role of the other two, but it is being addressed here because the other two are much more frequently treated in our lodge activities. Lodges organize themselves to do service to their councils, and the OA sends crews each summer to Philmont and Northern Tier to give service to our National High Adventure Bases and to national camping. There are events that stress brotherhood, like a lodge fellowship, and NOAC. But cheerfulness is an attitude that pervades all those things. Service can be done without a smile, and true brothers will stand by you no matter the mood – but these things, all things, are so much more fulfilling when you do them cheerfully.


Not only does a positive attitude lift your spirits and the task at hand, but it lifts up those around you also. Think about how many times a simple smile, a pat on the back, or a kind word has made you feel better about what you’re doing. The same can easily be done for others; it just takes the willingness to try – to go about the work of our Order and life, with the mindset that those who have the greatest power to motivate, to help others to a level they may not have imagined, do it with kind words, and genuine smiles. The amount of service possible and the strength of brotherhood are multiplied when cheerfulness is present as well.



Cheerfulness does not mean that everyone is constantly in a good mood. What it signifies is the continual commitment to life, the constant vigilance with which cheerful people face the world and problems in a way that transcends simple optimism. It is not merely an external quality; it is the deep and abiding quality of working toward the good things in life, of maintaining a positive spirit “even in the midst of irksome tasks and weighty responsibilities,” of not letting surmountable barriers prevent us from our fullest potential of brotherhood and service."


I especially love the last paragraph. Cheerfulness really is a commitment. You control your response to stress and drama. Your attitude, spirit, cheerfulness will determine your result. What happens when two tigers fight? One leaves injured and the other dies. Cheerfulness allows us to move softly when things are hard, or hard when things are soft and unclear. When stress hits you hard move like a snake. Move around the problem and look at it from a different angle. The first component of rank advancement, and of your advancement in any area of life, is ATTITUDE!

See you at the top!

Sensei Brian

How to Measure Your Success

In a letter titled, "Thoughts on Servant Leaders and the Great Outdoors," 2004 National Vice Chief David Dowty wrote:

"...leaders are meant to be authors of great ideas and wild dreams, taking a simple problem and applying a unique form of creativity to imagine the possibilities. As the dream takes shape, a leader must also determine and define for themselves and for their group how success will be measured. If we only defined success as achieved after we had reached and perfected our dreams, no one would ever feel that deep sense of accomplishment. Never knowing the taste of victory can demoralize and dishearten those you serve. Within little goals and aspirations can a group find the will and energy to continue serving their ultimate purpose; it is through those "baby steps" that Mother Nature perfected the natural world and that we will come closer to reaching our own summits."

At a young age this Scout realized that many of us set massive goals, fail, and then fall into a depression that keep us from setting further goals, from trying to be the best we can in all ways.  I learned through managing a martial arts studio that setting huge goals is a way to set yourself up for failure.  Set REALISTIC goals, that require work, but are achievable.  I set the goal to reach 100 students after my first full year of studio management.  I knew this was possible based on my past successes.  I reached that goal by December of that year, a full month early.  I set smaller goals along the way, of course, so that I could celebrate my smaller successes and feel good about my work.  Do you set rewards for reaching your goals?  You need an incentive to be successful.  "When I get an A in Math, I get a Nintendo DS."  Or, "when I reach 100 students, I will take a vacation to Hawaii."  Once you reach that goal you might not even want the prize!  But then it's YOUR choice, because YOU earned it through your hard work, planning, and motivation.

Do yourself a favor and write down your 10 goals for the year.  They can cover any area of your life, from family relationships, school, to Scouting.  Write a time frame for when you want it done (be realistic), and also (most importantly) have a PRIZE!  Review your goals daily, tell others about them, and take consistent action!

See you at the top!

-Brian Colwell

Commitment to Order of the Arrow

Seth Mollitt, 2005 National Vice Chief of the Order of the Arrow, wrote the following in a letter titled "Thoughts on Commitment to the Order of the Arrow". Click here for the full letter.

"...over time, however, our dedication can begin to fade. As we grow older and become busier with school and work, the things that at one time seemed so important to us begin to get pushed to the background by new opportunities and activities. As commitments pile up, it becomes easier and easier to skip the occasional lodge weekend; it becomes easier and easier to detach ourselves from the organization to which we once felt so connected. 
 

When I was twelve, I almost quit the Scouting program. School and friends distracted me, and the things that had once seemed so important began to fade. Luckily, I did not quit. I found a way to rekindle my dedication to the Order of the Arrow, and so can anyone else who may find his enthusiasm waning. Every year we are provided with innumerable opportunities to renew our commitment to the Order and to servant leadership through programs like OA Trail Crew, OA Wilderness Voyage, OA Ocean Adventure, NOAC, National Leadership Seminars, and Scoutreach Mentoring. I challenge all of you to take advantage of these opportunities."

Service to others IS a great way to bring energy back into your life.  I almost quit Scouting at one point myself.  But I didn't: and I went on to earn Eagle Scout, Vigil, and the Founder's Award.  I almost quit teaching the martial arts on 3 separate occasions as well.  Twice before I had my own studio and once when I left United Studios.  I'm glad I never quit, though.  I'm successful, happy, and surrounded by people I love and who love me back.  The tenacity of the Tiger is what we all need to push through the fog and dirt and muck, to succeed.  Most people quit JUST before they break through, just before they reach their goals.  That's because for any goal worth reaching there is a PRICE to pay.  Maybe you have to sacrifice your weekends working on your Eagle Project.  Maybe you can't hang with your buddies and skateboard for 3 hours during the week because you need to sacrifice that to have more study time.  Making the right decision is rarely easy in this case.  Peer pressure can push us all over the place.

Begin with the end in mind.  Then DO NOT allow yourself any other result but success.  If you take consistent action towards the end result, the end will be there before you know it!
For more help on setting and achieving YOUR goals shoot me an email at www.welovekempo@gmail.com.

See you at the top!
-Brian Colwell

Order of the Arrow Reminds Us to Honor Our Roots

2003 National Chief for the Order of the Arrow , Nick Digirolamo, wrote a letter titled, "Thoughts on Tradition," from which the following excerpt was taken.

"...ceremonial work has helped me to gain a better understanding of our Order. When I was a new Arrowman attending my first Lodge conclave, an older member of the Lodge approached me and asked if I would help out with a ceremony. I jumped at the opportunity to hang out with the older guys, and I found myself portraying Allowat Sakima later that night in the pre-Ordeal ceremony. I was not very prepared for the role and, admittedly, I was nervous about being the "little guy" in the midst of three seasoned ceremonialists. I was even more intimidated by the amount of candidates and brothers whose eyes were glued on me for the longest 3 minutes of my life, as I recited what lines I could recall from the script." Click here to view the full letter.

The Order of the Arrow isn't just about cheerful service to others, or about maintaining the spirit of Scouting. The OA follows many of the Native American traditions as well. But why? Why all the regalia and ceremony? Why do Vigil members receive a special Native American name?

I love the history of the Native American people, their dance and regalia. Their tradition and culture. Without the Order of the Arrow I would never have taken such an interest, that's for sure. The OA allows us to explore a culture that many of us find very foreign. My family made all their own regalia, danced in the Pow Wow. I learned about different styles of dance and the meaning of different feathers. It's tradition that many kids today miss out on. They miss out on their own history and we're now an i-phone culture. Slow down, go back to the roots. Explore your family tree. Learn what you don't know about your family and maybe you'll discover something about yourself as well!

See you at the top!

Sensei Brian

Boy Scouts Role Models - Are you a role model?

Another great letter from the fantastic Order of the Arrow website http://www.oa-bsa.org/ The following excerpt is from a letter written by Patrick Murphy, 2005 National Chief of the Order of the Arrow:

"I remember playing football in the fourth grade every recess. It was twenty minutes of my time during a long day of learning; but, for those glorious minutes, I was Cris Carter, John Elway, and Thurman Thomas, all in one. The games resembled nothing like a real football game, but my friends and I had fun. We all dreamed of catching the game-winning touchdown on Super Bowl Sunday that won our team the championship. During football season, I would watch every game that I could, and even go to some Arizona Cardinals games with my dad. On Monday, back at school, we would talk about the amazing plays and prepare to take the field as our favorite players, our role models. Their skills were envied by all, and we wished we could be like them. These NFL superstars did not know who I was, but I looked up to them.

As I grew older, I no longer looked to the television for my role models because I started to find them in my life. I realized that the people I held on a pedestal were no longer great football players, but people who had changed my life. I started to look up to my teachers, coaches, and parents. When the time came, the older Scouts in my troop became my role models. I had no older brother to look up to or to guide me, so I watched the older Scouts instead. Those were the guys I wished I could be like when I grew up." Click here to view the entire letter.

I think many of us have had similar experiences with Boy Scouts.  In my case my Dad was in the military and was out to sea for long periods of time.  He even missed my Eagle Court of Honor.  But I knew he cared.  He shows it in every way he could, from going on camp outs to being a Scoutmaster.  He was certainly a role model for me, having attained the rank of Eagle Scout and even the Vigil Honor in Order of the Arrow.  But who were my role models that filled the gaps when he was gone?  They weren't sports heroes.  They were the high ranking Scouts, the Life and Eagle Scouts.  They were the young adult leaders, the teens.  They seemed to cool!  I've been fortunate to have so many adult leaders looking out for me.  I'll never forget the names of the adults to guided and encouraged me to keep moving on through the ranks even when I just didn't want to do it anymore.  Fred Bode, Dan Brooks, Doug Sekishiro, Anne Murphey to name a few.
Are you a role model?  Of course you CAN be, but you probably don't realize just how many kids and maybe even adults look up to you.  Cheerful service to others is a good way to start.  Helping other people and maintaining a positive attitude is a formula for success at any age and in any place.  Do your good turn daily.

Be the person OTHER people want to be!

See you at the top!
Sensei Brian Colwell

Order of the Arrow - Cheerful Service

I found a fantastic Order of the Arrow resource www.oa-bsa.org. One of my favorite areas of the site is the "Chiefly Thoughts" section with letters from key youth leaders in the Order of the Arrow. Over the next few weeks I will highlight these thought-provoking letters.

"The Order of the Arrow has always served as one of the pinnacles of service to our country, not because we are asked to, and most definitely not because we are told to, but rather because it is our duty as Arrowmen. Dr. E. Urner Goodman, in his 1966 address at the Area 2C conference, talked to Arrowmen about the founding of the Order. He said to them that the Order of the Arrow was not founded on Treasure Island. Rather, it was founded many years beforehand. In 1776 a nation was founded, one that spoke of freedom and liberty." Click here for the full letter.


This passage from a letter written by Benjamin Stilwill, 2008 National Vice Chief, explains what the Order of the Arrow is about.  Once you're an Arrowman, you understand that the Order of the Arrow is a SERVICE organization.  "Cheerful service to others."  What I find is that many Scouts don't fully understand what the OA is, and that's why they choose to not get involved.  We live in a day when men don't hold the door for women anymore, or let women go first in line.  We don't remember the words "please" and "thank you."  Serving others, helping others live happier and truer lives, is the harder but ultimately more rewarding road.  If you live a life of service you will be taken care of when in need.  Things will work out in your favor.  Life will be arranged to better allow this service. 

How do you serve others?  I teach martial arts, and feel that I serve my community every day.  In a flash my life's purpose came to me one day as I was crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco: to serve others.  I didn't know how...I didn't need to know.  I just tried my best every day to serve others, to put others first.  My life has never been better.  I'm happy and I have people around me who love me.  They give back the energy I feed to them. 

What can you do today to serve others?
-Sensei Brian

The HARDEST part of reaching Eagle Scout...

The hardest part of reaching Eagle Scout isn't really the Merit Badges...it's the service project. Many of us waste precious months just thinking about what it is we want to do for our project. You want it to be huge, memorable...and the next thing you know you're almost 18 and scrambling to finish. No good. Make your project short and sweet. Remember: the point of your Eagle Project is to show leadership skills, planning and follow-through. The ability to set and achieve goals. My project was simple: I took apart and reworked/sanded/finished benches at my high school to make the school look nicer and to create a better environment for the students (including myself--added bonus). We reworked something like 6 benches, which took all day. One of my friends was crazy: his project took 6 months and he built an entire bird aviary...not necessary and WAY too expensive to get his project off the ground. "Keep it simple, stupid!"

Here is a list of projects and/or places to talk to about possible projects: think less and act more...
Habitat for Humanity
Help at library
Help with religious services
Cleanup graffiti
Bird counts
Fire hydrant painting
Assist in recycling
OA-sponsored community picnic
Encourage voter registration/participation
D.A.R.E. red ribbon days
Scout exhibits in museum/libraries
Programs at schools
Assist disadvantaged people
After-school care
Neighborhood watch
Volunteer fire support
Help at zoos, botanical programs
Christmas tree donation
Ushers and other help at community events (concerts, games, etc.)
Food drives
Coat drives
Adopt-A-Park
Highway clean up
Beach clean up
Soup kitchen
Homeless shelter
Disaster Relief Work
Toy Drive
Tutoring
Deliver / Aid Sr. Citizens
Nursing Home help
Help with handicapped
Special Olympics
Public Service promotions


Hope this help! See you at the top!



Sensei Brian

Boy Scouts and Religion - What do you think?

These questions were taken from BSALegal.org and can be found at: http://www.bsalegal.org/faqs-195.asp
The reason I chose these questions for the Blog this week is because I had two kids in my troop in Northern California that didn’t follow the “traditional” values of Scouting in terms of their religious beliefs.  One kid didn’t believe in God and the other believed in many Gods.  In fact, while most people might say, “Oh GOD!” this kids would say, “Oh GODS!”  It always struck me as weird why these kids were allowed into Scouting even though they didn’t follow the Scout Law and Oath in the strictest sense.  I was told as a kids that BSA didn’t have the right to deny kids admission to Scouting…maybe things were way more liberal in Northern California…but according to BSA Legal these kids shouldn’t have been allowed.  I know of one kid in Nor Cal who got his Eagle Scout while publically admitting he was an atheist.  What’s your take on this?  What stand do you take on his Hot Topic???

Q.  Can an individual who states that he does not believe in God be a volunteer Scout leader or member?
A.  No. The Scout Oath represents the basic values of Scouting, and it addresses the issue of “duty to God” before duty to country, others, and self.


Q.  Why is duty to God important to Scouting?
A.  Since its founding in the United States in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has had an ongoing commitment to encouraging moral, ethical and spiritual growth. The Boy Scouts of America believes that the principles set forth in the Scout Oath and Law are central to Boy Scouts’ goals.

Q.  What harm would come of admitting young people who are unwilling to do their duty to God?
A.  The Scout Oath and Law have served as the foundation of Scouting for 94 years. It would be a disservice to over five million youth and adult members of Scouting to allow members to pick and choose among the elements of the Oath or Law.

Q.  How does the Boy Scouts of America define religion?
A.  Boy Scouts of America is not a religion; it is a nonsectarian association of persons who believe in God.  The Declaration of Religious Principle describes God in a broadly interfaith way as “the ruling and leading power in the universe” to whom we are grateful for “favors and blessings.”

Q.  What religions are involved with Scouting?
A.  Virtually every religion is represented in the Boy Scouts of America, from Catholics and Protestants, to the Armenian Church of America and Zoroastrians.  The Religious Relationships Committee, which includes over 30 religious groups represented in Scouting, determines whether a religion is an appropriate partner for Scouting, and reviews any “duty to God” material which is to be used in Scouting for consistency with Boy Scout policies.

Q.  What allows the Boy Scouts of America to exclude atheists and agnostics from membership?
A.  The Boy Scouts of America is a private membership group. As with any private organization, Boy Scouts’ retains the constitutional right to establish and maintain standards for membership. Anyone who supports the values of Scouting and meets these standards is welcome to join the organization.

See you at the top!
-Sensei Brian