Whlest cleaning the stable of the young lord who does abideth his self in our castle I came upon a find. It was a small book : Rules for a Knight was the title emblazoned on the cover over a sword balanced by the author's name below. It was a rich green with gold leaf like lettering. So immediately I was drawn to it, for it was attractive in the most simple way.
Ethan Hawke a name unknown to me. But I picked it up and the jacket at the back was still in place.
So I read the jacket and decided that aside from having a very cool name this guy was someone of considerable talent. Actor and scholar, awards and honors aplenty.
So there I stood with my Swiffer Duster with this little book in my hand and I just knew I was going to fall into it. I wanted to know immediately what the rules for a Knight were, surely they involved boldness, adventure and I somehow knew that lemon pledge and a feather duster did not play a role. My imagination was taking me to the meadows of some far off land where heather grew alongside a slow meandering stream (See picture above-it is really not a swamp in NJ if you can imagine) I get a little lost in imagination while dusting and vacuuming and must be excused. But before doing so I would need to do the honorable thing and ask permission of the Squire. Permission sought and granted allowed me in. The book is presented as an ancient letter from a Knight to his family on the eve of a battle. A battle in which he expects to die. The knight seeks to impart rules of life to his children or seeks to inspire them to live their lives in a way outlined in the book. It has little sketch like illustrations of birds just to add to its charm. (Which allows me to use my best Blue Herron picture ever in the blog)
The Knight expands on topics such as Equality, Grace, Friendship , Cooperation , Solitude and more.
Each notion or vir
tue has its own chapter, which total 20. I was hooked on chapter one-which happened to be Solitude. I personally believe there is a benefit for some small measure of solitude in that you can turn off the constant noise in your head that seems to be part of modern life. I walk with my dog each morning, so early that we are almost always the only ones about. We talk sometimes, I pray sometimes, sometimes I just enjoy the quiet or the chill or the damp , the warmth. 30 or 40 minutes of alone time each day before the phone, the e mail and the fractured quality of a work day intrudes.Once captured by the Knight I read the remainder. I focused and concentrated on the virtues he was pushing. I have become something of an expert on the genre of short philosophical light reads and this is absolutely among the best. So good was it that I considered keeping my son's copy myself, but that would run me afoul of Chapter VIII. So I will just have to buy my own copy, as I am sure I will want to revisit.
In our search for the "good life" we need sometimes a guide, this little book is such a guide. Think about it, how much time have you devoted to thinking about the concept of Speech, as in speech what you say and how you say it and how it affects those about you or Patience. Given event on any given day there apparently is not too much attention paid to either one. I mean can anyone go a week without hearing some horn honker screaming at some other driver for not moving through an intersection fast enough. I mean modern life is not an excuse and this little book focuses on that sort of thing. Listen to the terrible brand of speech that comes across in broadcast media. Humanity is demonized by those who hold opposing view, parents and children seemingly have no restraint in how they address each other. Just the other day I heard a child F bomb a parent and I was stunned.
And so it went in each chapter, I got to pause and think about so many of the things that make up this Knight's life and each chapter reinforce some thought or refreshed some needed thought.
So if you are a parent with a child who perhaps is in the midst of a mid teen snotty fest, this would be a great Christmas gift. Or even if you child is a fine young man as is my son, it will be of value. I certainly wish I had come upon such a story in my earlier years. Be bold, be like a Knight in armor buy the book and if your child does not want it, grab it for yourself. So good was the book in my mind that I think I will go see a movie with this talented young man in it. But moreover I think I will try and live by the rules revealed between the covers.