Ponderings on Our Purpose
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Preface
A meeting was recently held in the hallowed halls of the Trinsic Town Council of Honor, inspired and lead by Annunzio, a long time friend of the Heralds of the Awakening.
I imagine the transcript of that meeting will be posted in the near future, but the information shared, and the questions asked were quite valuable, atleast in my eyes. Ever since that meeting I have had a string of my own questions, and answers, which lead me to share some of my thoughts with you this day. The crux of the issue revolves around the nature of the Virtues in our day and age. Naturally, the definition of this particular question will be different for each individual that you pose it to. But the HoA is an organization that was created with some specific intentions in mind, intentions that we felt were a natural growth of our commitment to the Virtues.
So in pondering the question in the context of our purpose, the answer lies in our philosophy only in part. The larger, and more important piece lies in the quantifiable, every day actions of our orgnization as a whole. Let me elaborate. For each Principle, we have a representative Oracle. In theory, the Oracles of Truth, Love and Courage are the steering committee of the HoA. They guide and inspire, lead and support the Sages in their work throughout the land. However, the work of the Oracle is also more than simply administration. It involves interracting with the public, living lives that embody not only their Principle, but every Principle. And in adopting the Principles of Truth, Love and Courage, they in turn embrace the lessons and wisdom that are part and parcel of the Eight Virtues as well.
Additionally, this philosophy obviously applies to each Sage and Herald. A specific Sage of Virtue in our organization embraces the philosophy of the Virtues as a whole, seeing their part as but a piece of the greater message that is the Virtues. I mentioned the importance of quantifiable, measurable actions to an organization like the Heralds of the Awakening. Living a Virtuous life, while important (yet subjective) is quite difficult to measure. It is the subjective nature of living a good and Virtuous life that opens the members of our organization up to unjust, and unfair criticisms. This is to say, You may be a good person, but perceptions of your intent can cast you in a light that may or may not be a fair judgement of your character. We have all dealt with the unreasonable, sour individuals who would attack your character simply because of your station in the community. I have much to say on this point, but I will not stray to far from the subject at hand. Allow me to sum my thoughts thusly: There are people in this world who guage their success via the conquest of others. From their vantage point, the only way to gain success or esteem in the eyes of the community is to do so on the backs of others. As this is their way, they assume that it is the way of others as well.
This is a useful tool for our Oracles, Sages and Heralds when we are confronted by those who dislike the HoA because of our influence or our power to affect change in the realm. Those that would attack us or question our motives are in essence questioning themselves. Because they would abuse such power, because they would have hurt others in their ascension to a position of influence, they assume that others would as well. I mention this because it directly relates to the issue at hand. I personally know that the HoA is made up of individuals who have a strong commitment to living their lives in service to the Virtues. But how do we stand on that as the only example of the HoA's good works? We cannot! And so we find ourselves back to the mission of the HoA. Building community through quantifiable, measureable projects and events that while fun and enlightening, are inspired by the Virtues. If words can ever truly do justice to our cause, that is a close approxamation of our purpose. But to be effective, these projects and events must be directed by the Oracles, implemented by the Sages, and supported by the Heralds. Naturally, this begs the question: What are these projects and events? Were I to simply share just the ideas in my own head, the list would fill the books of the Lycaeum.
Yet as an Oracle, it falls to me to guide our organization towards the completion and celebration of these measurable tasks. And it falls to every one of us to evaluate our part in the implimentation, and judge the outcomes of these events for the betterment of our organization as a whole. And with this being said, allow me to share what the HoA has commited to doing as an organization. These are the current projects and events that we will endeavor to complete and support in the coming months, and years to come. These are the four corner stones of our work, and the tools we shall use to measure our impact, our success, and our areas of growth.
Support of Town Councils
Each Sage, and their Heralds, will support the organization of true Town Councils of Virtue. This work will be executed in cities where there is no established councils, as well as cities that have a rich history of lively and vital councils. In the past we have wavered on this task, but no more. Let us support the organization efforst of the Children of Light. It is the goal of the HoA to inspire citizens in our realm to commit themselves to civic duty. This will be our strength, this will be a corner stone of our work in the realm.
Support Education
Each Oracle and Sage will make a personal commitment to supporting educational events in our realm. We will host classes in buildings specifically engineered for presentations and discussion groups on topics not limited simply to the Virtues, but on the vast array of important and interesting topics of our time. This will include support of any educational institutions that request or require it and specific educational events that are unique to the HoA. This will also include the dissemination of literature to the young people of our realm. Texts that outline the goals and aims of the HoA, texts that support and espouse the Virtues, and texts that inspire the young to incorperate their own visions of community into the greater mission of the Heralds of the Awakening. A large piece of the corner stone of education is our publishing house, the Bell, Book and Candle. We will throw every piece of our energy behind this project to see it to fruition. We will accept submissions from the realm at large in an attempt to shine a light on the ideas, philosophies, and trends of our combined culture. Even if these philosophies are contradictory to our own.
Support Community Building
Members of the HoA will be encouraged to play leadership roles, and inspire others to play leadership roles, in the events and organizations that define our culture. We will work together to support established, and yet to be established, guilds, organizations and events. We will encourage, and support the efforst of the realm to create platforms for the advancement of social and cultural interraction. This corner stone represents our acknowledgement that the realm as we know it must support inclusiveness for all Children of Light, regardless of their particular social designations. It acknowledges the reality that a life of meaningful social interraction and cultural enrichment is an endeavor of the highest order.
Support of the Health and Well Being of the Realm
The establishment of our Hospice Network, and our flagship hospital, the Healing Hand, is complete. It now falls to us to encourage others to utilize these buildings for their intended purpose. The best medical and medicinal minds of our realm must be supported to do their good works, and the Hospice Network is the means to that end. We must support the advancement of medicines and technologies that will encourage the growth of a community of healers and physicians. We must research cures for maladies both common and uncommon, and we must offer our services to any and all who require them, regardless of their ability to cover expenses, or their personal philosophies as it relates to the Virtues. This cornerstone affirms the HoA's commitment to a holistic approach in our vision of the Virtues in action.
And so these are the four corner stones of the HoA. These are the measurable, quantifiable actions that determine our success and failure as an organization. Although the wheels are already in motion, and although these cornerstones already exist and serve as the pillars of the HoA, your input and questions are always welcome.
Yours in the Light, Aleph Aeirs Oracle of truth Heralds of the Awakening