RIDE OF INTEGRITY

While traveling different events there have been many meaningful encounters and experiences that again have left an impression.  I have been writing down these reflections that have inspired me or were unforgettable. It can be a vulnerable place to share what you personally think or feel (a toast to you who write for a living).  I wanted to be profound and have some moving thought that would affect others.  Trying to make something grand for the sake of it being grand can lose its strength. So, I shall just write.  In being true to the “cowboy” I have to keep it honest/true, bold yet simple.   Authenticity is hard to come by and I have watched it lived out in the western community.

As a part of Hood River Distillers we have a company meeting where we are given a book consisting of that years focus, potential, goals and where we would like to see our company grow and develop.  What I found has stood with me and left a lasting impression.  This will not be news or a new awakening, for this revelation has been around for many years, but sometimes a revisit is needed.  Upon opening the book this is what I found…

THE CODE of the WEST

1. LIVE EACH DAY WITH COURAGE.
2. TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR WORK.
3. ALWAYS FINISH WHAT YOU START.
4. DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE.
5. BE TOUGH, BUT FAIR.
6. WHEN YOU MAKE A PROMISE, KEEP IT.
7. RIDE FOR THE BRAND.
8. TALK LESS AND SAY MORE
9. REMEMBER THAT SOME THINGS AREN’T FOR SALE.
10. KNOW WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE.

What happened to the hand shake and what it held to be sacred.  I want to believe it still silently means my “word is my bond”.   The CODE may be a way that you already go about your daily activities, business, or personal relationships.  If only we could live with these few guiding words that are expressed it may be a different world.   People talk about ethics, integrity, honor … Some have the courage and respect to carry out the action.

After looking further into this code I found there to be an extended list of lasting western knowledge.  In the midst of it I found” Always remove your guns before sitting at the dinner table”, which came right before “Always fill your whisky glass to the brim”!  Yes times have changed or evolved but maybe your new age gun is baggage, and Whisky well that goes without explanation there is something to be learned or taken from wisdom that has already been lived.

Long live the cowboy and the way of the West.

-Mindy