Montaigne has a lot to say especially about customs.  He starts this essay by stating that "custom is a violent and treacherous schoolmistress".  He continues on using words like tyrannic and furious.   Then states "We see her, at every turn, forcing and violating the rules of nature:  'Custom is the best master of all things' (Pliny).  In the next paragraph he states that "custom stupefies our senses".  

That is a very strong opinion.  Do you agree?  disagree?  Why?

I have to believe that customs have good and bad teachings within them.  We can unfortunately make many decisions based on our customs instead of stepping back and asking is the idea right or wrong, is the idea true or false.   We make judgements all day long just based on our custom or traditions.  

For example, I recently went to Italy.  A fabulous experience.  And I experienced how I was making judgements based on my traditions, in particular my eating traditions.  Italy enjoys seafood (raw and cooked) way more then I am accustomed to.  I found that because I don't eat seafood often, when I went to restaurants I didn't choose seafood options.  All based on my customs and expectations.  Such a small thing yet I limited my choices each time because of my customs.  

This experience made me wonder what judgments I have made that are wrong but based on customs or traditions in my life.  I wondered about how I was not able to see options because of my customs or see things incorrectly for the same reason.  Am I just obeying ideas without understanding or questioning ideas?

So many things to think about. I am so happy that I have continued to pursue a leadership-style education just because it challenges my traditions and customs and expands my thinking.  In another essay Montaigne wrote "Human understanding is marvelously enlightened by daily conversations with men, for we are, otherwise, compressed and heaped up in ourselves, and have our sight limited to the length of our own noses."

I agree with this statement.  Discussion has been a huge part of my learning.  I really hope that my sight is not so limited that it does not extend past the end of my nose.  

I have had this on my list to read for a while.  I find it different then what I expected.   As a good friend recommended it is a book that you need to read in short segments hunting for the gold nuggets.  Here is one that caused me to ponder and think about. 

Book 8:28:
Either pain affects the body (which is the body's problem) or it affects the soul.   But the soul can choose not to be affected, preserving its own serenity, its own tranquility.  All our decisions, urges, desires, aversions lie within.  No evil can touch them. 

I have been pondering what pain (emotional, mental, physical) have I allowed to touch my soul?

There are many books that are similar to this book (The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life by B. Varty).  I can think of the Alchemist, The Dream Giver, Grandfather (Brown) and A Hero of A Thousand Faces.   Louis L' Amour books and many Science Fiction books follow some of these themes.  All are really sharing ideas about how to live life by finding your unique path and working through all the challenges that are along the path.  
This story is unique in that it is told as the narrator looks to track a lion and shares the lessons he has learned from his mentors but you can see many of the ideas from each of the other books in his storytelling. 

​Overall big idea:  Along our journey we have  many experiences that can change our lives if we are willing to take the risks necessary to take the journey.  

In 2015-2016 Scholar Moms read and discussed this book.   That was my second read of the book.  I learned so much from reading and discussing this book but I was not sure that I considered this a classic for me.   The book did stay on my self because I was not yet certain about this book.  I have looked at it several times chewing on my thoughts.  Is this a book that I should keep as a classic for my family? This week I listened to a discussion on this book by The Pelican Society (https://www.pelicansociety.com/) that has helped me decide.   One of the discussion points that was brought up was that Fitzgerald wrote a book showing what happens to society in a world without God and left with only tradition.  Reading the story with that idea in mind changes everything for me.   This book has now become a powerful idea that is relevant to me and my world today.  

I started listening to this book because of a podcast.  The presenter mentioned that to him our world has followed the path of Brave New World more than 1984.  I had this book on my list for a while, but this comment really intrigued me and I had an audio of the book so was listening to it as was doing some things around the house.  At first, I was not sure if I fully agree with the podcast presenter yet but can see his point.  Until the end of the book you hear so much about a society that focuses on technology advancements and pleasure seeking. I had to step back before I saw how the underlying idea was not the technology focus but the education focus.  To me both books teach about education and were we get out education.   The media plays a huge role in what we know and so does the education or training we receive.    My thought right now is that if our education is not toward scholarship and statesmanship than media can have a larger influence in our lives, so the podcast presenter point has a lot of merit.  

As I finished listening this, I decided to do a little research into the names of some of the characters because thought I did not recognize all the names I did recognize some and thought the author might be intentional about his choices.  I was browsing through SparkNotes and noticed something that really changed the book for me.  The section on the allusion was very impactful. I had picked up on some of them but there were others that I missed but the part that was impactful was the listing out of the quotes and their allusion to Shakespeare's works.  It was very interesting to see which plays were referenced and which plays were not.  I had just finished studying two of the plays mentioned.  One of the plays was my first deep dive into the storyline (Troilus and Cressida).  Because I understood that play better the allusions become very impactful.  Knowing and connecting the allusions brought so much more depth to the points.   In my mind it shifted the main take-aways for me from the focus to pleasure and technology to the role of education. At the end of this book there is a conversation about education (chapter 16) that really rang true to me. I had to re-read the last couple of chapters.  As I was thinking about the conversations in the book and Shakespeare's alliterations, I looked through a note I had for my next plan of study where I had posted this idea: Shakespeare focused on emotional success (or lack of it) while having faith in intuition and principles when compared to Aristotle whose faith was placed in evidence and experts while focusing on material success (I believe this idea came from Oliver DeMille but am not certain).  The idea had intrigued me, and I wanted to study it out some more.   After listening to this book, this idea does seem to line up with my take-aways from Brave New World.   The story becomes so much richer because of my experience with Shakespeare.  Had I not recognized that my education was missing so many things as I was raising my family I would never have read much Shakespeare.  I wanted better for my family which lead me on a new journey with Thomas Jefferson Education (tjed.org and LEMI).  Because of that journey a podcast presenter expressed an idea that I did not ignore and wanted to investigate which has me pondering yet again the importance of how of reading and discussing great books and ideas changes everything.

 To me, this is a fun book to read.  I loved learning more about the Lakota people and traditions.  Along with that, I was challenged to compare my ideas of what a leader looks like.   As I was reading the book, I could see the author’s idea of what a good leader looked like, then pause and reflect on what I would add or change.    I saw the power of having a position in society and being trained for that position through close mentorship.  Each person having a role in the community is the start of all leadership.  I learned how important it was to have others reflect back on what they see in us as a guide to helping us develop our confidence.  
Another principle the author shared was how important it was to pick the members of your team.  If we want to achieve a great goal we have to make sure we have the skills we need and also that we need to search for those that will support and help us achieve that great goal.  Support and willingness alone are not enough.  It is a start but not enough.  We need to learn to scout out or become acutely aware of those around us as we move forward on our paths.  The challenges (or enemies) along the way help us to increase our strength and attention.  If we look at the world through faulty ideas or incorrect ideas then it can lead to our failure. 
In judging other leaders, there are many challenges when we do not have a close community.  How can you tell if someone is a good leader? One of the things that we can look for is generosity.  You cannot fake it when a generous leader lives among you and with you.   In a large system, we fall back on the agendas and causes but a true leader will shine through as they are generous with all that they have.  There is in the true leader no attempt to increase fear or take from others in any way.
This book might be overlooked as a great leadership book because it does not feel very ‘meaty’ however I think it has some things to say to you if you take the time to reflect on the stories that were told and what they mean to you.

​In Book VII, Chapter 9 of Politics by Aristotle it states, “Now, since we are here speaking of the best form of government, i.e. that under which the state will be most happy (and happiness, as has been already said, cannot exist without virtue),….leisure is necessary both for the development of virtue and the performance of political duties.”
I have been pondering this idea for a while.  I have more leisure in my life than most of the people who have lived in the world.  I am not well off financially, but I do have many things that make my life much easier than other generations.  I have running water, electricity and many machines that make my life very comfortable.  I have appreciated this for many years.  I am SO BLESSED.    I am not well off financially compared to many, but I have not wondered about my next meal, or how to stay warm.   I have so much more leisure in my life than many others.  So, what have I done with that leisure?
When I was a young adult my focus was on getting a career.  I have worked since I was 14 years old to earn the money I wanted to live my way.  I was driven to work and go to school.  I burned both ends of the candle trying to get where I thought I would be successful.  During the process of this, I changed my mind about what was most important after having my first child.  I stopped focusing on how to get ahead in the world and focused on who to help my children get all that was good.  This next journey focusing on what was best for my children brought me to homeschooling.  During this process, I was introduced to the ideas of TJEd and Leadership Education.  My conversion was slow, but I shifted again toward the Leadership Education Model.  I started educating myself.  It has been wonderful.  I can say that since that for the most part I have been using my leisure time much better.  I look back and see how much I learned and am learning, and it has been a wonderful journey.   I still have many things still to do but I have enjoyed the journey.  There are times I have been discouraged and time wasting of course but overall, I still feel that I have done well with my leisure time. 
The part I keep tossing around in my head right now is the last part of the quote:  “and the performance of political duties.”  What will I choose to do?   I agree with many parts of Politics. Which leads me toward my next question:  What are my political duties?  Why?
I tried to ignore this but then I read in Chapter 15: “and those who cannot face danger like men are slaves to any invader.”   I don’t want to be a slave to any invader therefore I must make some decisions on how to act upon the knowledge I have.  

This book goes really well with the essay "The Law"  by Bastiat.  The author actually uses many quotes from the essay.  

One of the quotes that I like from the Law is:  "The law is collective force organized to oppose injustice." A very concise and clear definition of what law should be. When you take this definition to the introduction of the Declaration of Independence you have a clear idea of what injustice is.

There is also a clearer set of explanations of the 5 Laws of Decline that are in the book LeaderShift.   Along with this idea (laws of decline) is listed the 6 duties of society. 

As I ponder what my biggest take away is, I keep coming back to the idea that all good government MUST start in the home.   There are two basic ways to set up your family system - through persuasion or force.  Depending on your personal beliefs you will practice and teach either the ideas.    In our homes we learn to balance the ideas of chaos (no force) and coercion (absolute force).  The only way that we will be able to have a home of harmony and agreement is to education our self in many areas and then practice those ideas.  We need to know when and how to use persuasion and force correctly and in ways that promote our personal growth and freedoms along with how to keep harmony in the home.   Once we are able to establish harmony in our home we can then take those principles to society and help society to establish justice.   In our home we create rules or laws to help us establish safety and justice.  It is the same with society, laws are just a bit more complex since it involves more people and different beliefs (which is why written, clear laws are so important in societies).   For government to be truly justice it must begin in the home and then move out toward the community.