Blog Guelph: Keeping Class

mary modelling her rectangle ring, a photo by jen linfield photography on Flickr.

We really do live in a culture of excess. We can flaunt and foray without any thought of meeting expectations. Some people even enjoy breaking the code, the rules of conduct, the barometer of the norm. 


But there is such a thing as too much in my opinion. There is a place too far. A push too breaking. A demeanour too damning. And our acceptance of everything has left us with a class of nothing.


Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I still believe in class. And in keeping class.


What does that mean exactly? Well, being classy is about a few things. It's about how you carry yourself, how you care about people, how you are a genuine and committed person, how you have a moral compass, how you present yourself physically, and it's also about how you step away from self ostentation, demonstration, or attention. It is about putting your character before the stage and fashion of the times.


There's not much class out there in recent years. Lots of people call themselves liberated and use this as an excuse to do whatever pleases them. This selfish attitude is so pervasive that it's rotting out our communities and cultures. It's destroyed many relationships and lives. 


"There are all kinds of arrangements out there"


I'll never forget this line I heard someone use in reference to relationships. This is how they looked at it: "arrangements." 


I guess they're right. Is that not the saddest thing?

Where's love? Have people, foraying in the pasture shadows of their Peyton Places,  forgotten love? What it means to really feel something for another person. Empathy? Compassion? Trust?

Marriages break down, people have affairs. They say most men and women will be unfaithful to their partners at one time or another. The green grass will excite them for a time and all commitment will be thrown in the trail dust. Until that too becomes unsatisfying. Because they can never be sated. 


Honour brings contentment. Not ego.


But class isn't just about love. It's about being strong. It's about having character. Having heart.


Being true. 


I'm going to take a stand and say I really don't agree in this big free-for-all going on out there. This isn't Woodstock and love isn't free. You want to offer it for free, you can. But somewhere down the road you'll be paying. 


Class. It's about being brave enough to believe in goodness and to hold yourself to a higher meaning.


~ Aidan M.D. Ware