Do you still remember your scouting days? Do you remember how it made you morally upright and strong in body and spirit? Do you still bring with you the same principles that managed to invigorate your youth? Or are you yet another aging specimen with dying values and dignity? Are you another idle entity of society that is more like a parasitic insect than a brilliant higher being? Or are you the type who manages to make vital contributions to society despite of advancing age?



Lessons Learned

Do you still remember the many lessons you learned from scouting? You learned what it takes to live by ethical standards. You learned how it is to work as part of a greater whole, to be part of a community. You learned to become a leader. You learned to serve society and the, many entities it comprises (with your family and yourself included). Interestingly, you never had to leave your youth behind, for you were taught to have fun and to search for adventures while preserving the values of responsibility.

Trained to become a Swiss Army Knife

In other words, you were trained to become a Swiss Army Knife. Remember that handy multitool you carried around during your physically demanding scouting days? Do you remember how you could not do without it? Do you remember its usefulness? Its multifaceted functions? Little did you know, you were becoming that Swiss Army Knife yourself, you were becoming a useful citizen of your nation.

But are you still that same Swiss Army Knife? Your youthful vibrancy, your positive and spirited hopes of the future do not have to die with age. The body may grow old, even die, but the spirit never ages. So long as you continue to feed that spirit, you will never falter.

How do You Feed Your Spirit?

So how do you feed your spirit? It all starts with a goal. Without it, you will have difficulty propelling yourself to move, to dream. Without a preset goal, you will not have the energy to fuel your muscles, the drive.

Think back and reflect on yourself. Are you still the same person? Or have you changed? If you are still the same person, then you wasted years that you should have used to further improve upon yourself. If you have changed, did you change for the better or for worse? If it's the former then your country is proud of you. If it's the latter, then you better start sorting out your priorities.

Change

Do not be daunted by the idea of change. You can make positive changes slowly but surely so you won't have to be daunted by drastic moves. Changes, though small and seemingly insignificant, can come a long way and leave a legacy.

Case in point, did you know that the name Swiss Army Knife was coined by American soldiers after the World War II. And did you know why? Because of the simple reason than they found it difficult to pronounce its original name ? ?Offiziersmesser?. Simple yet helpful in its small way, a change that has come along way. Swiss Army Knife has now grown to become a household name.

You can still go back to those grand old days when you were a ?Swiss Army Knife!?