Strength, Beauty, & Wisdom

Strength, beauty, and wisdom are the three lesser lights of freemasonry and they play an intricate role in our lives. Each of these three things has been pursued, warred over, and desired in all societies following the natural order (unlike our own) since the beginning of time. Because of this these three traits deserve a closer look to see how they fit into your own life and how to make use of them. While most of what I write about is practical “self-hel” (for lack of a better word) advice I like to also talk about things that are much deeper from time to time.

And don’t want you to think that there isn’t something deeper to this all. Self-improvement for the sake of self-improvement lead nowhere. But that’s a topic for another time. While we most likely think of strength and wisdom to be masculine traits and beauty to be a feminine trait (and for the most part I would say that is correct) I also want to look at this from another angle so we will therefore start with beauty.

Beauty

We will start with beauty. Another word for this is aesthetics. Throughout time mankind has appreciated beauty in many different forms. From the beauty of pristine nature say a snow capped mountain, a eagle in flight, or the might of a thunderstorm. To the beauty of man’s constructions such as mighty castles, sacred cathedrals, or a great works of art. And of course the physical form. Again when describing the male form this is usually called aesthetics and is important for men to develop while being called beauty for women.

There is a war on beauty just as there is a war on strength and wisdom at this point in time. Whether it’s modern art, feminism, or the promotion of the “dad bod”. Now why does this matter to us? One these three things are connections and reflections of something greater. Their perservation and advancement for that reason alone is important but let’s look at this from a practical standpoint. A man who makes use of beauty (aesthetics) is a man who can command more power than one who does not.

Look at someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. In interviews or even pictures of him, the way people (especially women) responded to him because of his aesthetics it allowed him much more power of people than he would have otherwise had. Even those who were more charasmatic or smarter were drowned out in Arnold’s presence because of his muscular development. Might sound “stupid” but it’s how humans work. The better looking and more aesthetic have more power period.

Strength

I think this is the one where men are most comfortable or familiar with. Strength means many things. It encompasses more than simply brute physical strength though that obviously plays a role as well. It includes mental and spiritual strength as well. By mental meaning be able to out smart and out wit your enemies, being able to get knocked clean on your ass and get back up, and being able to keep going when everything is coming apart at the seams. Spiritual strength to stand untained in this corrupted and dark world and make it to the other side with your pride and balls intact.

To now cower, back down, or compromise your pride or who you are. That is spiritual strength. To lay claim to the world and will yourself to power is a combination of all three strengths and makes up a large part of what being a man is all about. Real strength is always respected and feared. It cannot be mistaken. For example when you look at old vidoes of the German army marching you can help but notice that they radiate strength and purpose regardless of what you think about them.

Point is strength is unmistakable regardless of ethics. And it is always respected. To develop strength is essential for every man. Combat, training, hardship, cunning, solitude, and many more things help to create this strength within yourself. Develop all three aspects of strength mental, physical, and spiritual to go farthest in this world.

Wisdom

Wisdom I see as the glue that ties everything together. Like beauty and strength wisdom has always been revered in societies operating according to natural order. Strength and beauty alone though they shine bright are like shooting stars. Here for a moment illuminating everything but then burning out quickly. Wisdom is what allows strength and beauty to become something more and something greater. Wisdom is something that is distinct from intelligence, something deeper.

Wisdom put simply is knowing the right thing to do, not from a moral standpoint neccesarily but rather from a overall standpoint taking everything into account. Wisdom is also understanding human nature and the human animal. Something good marketers always like to say is “You’re not in the X business, you’re in the human business” and same could be said of politics and just day to day living. This isn’t to say that the only thing about wisdom is understanding human nature rather that it makes up a large part of it.

Where Are You Weak?

When looking at these three things be honest with yourself and think about where you are weak. I would guess that most following my writings would be weak in the aesthetics department of the three as I stress wisdom and strength much more. This is an area that I knew I could do better in and so have added training and adjusted my diet to do so. In a country where many decisions are deteremined by the whims of women never underestimate the power of being “hawt”. Yeah it’s sad things have sunk this low but that’s the reality we live in. Regardless find where you’re weak and address it.

If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter here.

-Charles Sledge