Journal of Life

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools

I have experienced a moment that will change my life forever. This moment was a very profound, spiritual, intimate and reflective event. I feel like I left the Iron Ring Ceremony as a different person than the one that entered.

Yesterday, I was greatly honoured to have participated in The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer, a century old tradition in Canadian Engineering. The Ritual (also known as The Iron Ring Ceremony) is a significant time in an engineers’ life. At this time, the young engineering graduate becomes a qualified member of the profession. An important step, but what really touched me was the symbolism of the moment.

The ideals of an engineer encompasses many virtues that I hold in high regard. These virtues include honesty, integrity, reliability and a responsibility to society. I value an awareness of our society and respect those who contribute to it. I understand meaningful relationships and know that we can only advance as a race if we give more than we take. In our current state, I believe that there are a disproportionately small number of people who make the greatest contributions back to society. I believe that the volume of value given by the great contributors exceeds the value taken by others. Integrity, strength of character, is embodied in self assuredness and applied in the engineers’ every decision. Honesty is removing the guise that your pride places on your mind and representing entirely candid thoughts and feelings. One must possess high integrity to be genuinely and eternally honest since one must trust themselves before others will offer their trust. Reliability is a strength of character so strong that it stands through diversity, disaster and time. Rudyard Kiplings’ voice gives words to these ideals in the above quote.

Kevin Bailey, a man that I have known for quite some time, and a person that I believe represents these virtues placed the symbolic ring on my finger. In that moment, I felt a wave of pride wash over me. I knew that moment was the beginning of the rest of my life. My character has been ever slowly evolving and this symbol unites my virtues with my character. The ring feels like a piece of my integrity, an ageless memento of commitment to myself.

My life did change in that hour. Eternally, for the better.

The timing of this day was perfect. I have passed through several important stages of questioning my moral character, leading up to the ceremony. You do not need to wait for a significant event to reflect on life and change your personality. It is never too late to be the person you want to be. Take the opportunity now and the next hour will change your life.