To Daniel — 2023

Every year may you be older, wiser, more of a man, sharper, and handsomer, Daniel.

Here are a few words. Read them when you are older and you will understand them; they will help you a little.

Be a man with clear principles that cannot be bargained away.

Beware the grey one with no opinion — the one who is “with them” when they are there and “against them” when they are gone.

Be clear: no is no, yes is yes — not “maybe,” and not walking away.

Being a man is not the same as being male, because men are few and males are many.

A man is known: he does not fear society or relationships. And make room in your life for the prince, the peer, and the captive.

Lying does not go with being a man. Clarity and honesty end well, even when you don't like it at the time.

Bargaining wastes a lot of time, effort, and trust.

Let your actions be higher than your words, because men do more than they talk.

Be skilled. It is hard and exhausting, but the unskilled has no value. The more skill you have, the more people need you, and the less you need people.

Patience is good — but work while you are patient. Don't sit there doing nothing.

Be a man who loves everyone, though a few enmities are fine: if everyone loves you, you have become the one in the wrong.

Be a man with your friends. Your time matters and their priority in your life matters. Choose them carefully and with care — you are not going to befriend just anyone and end up flying.

The world is not easy. What you plant is what you harvest. It is normal to find thorns; that is the price of our kind, because of the mess we make.

Rise to whatever you rise to, do what you love, and be better than me in everything. And don't listen to the tired proverbs about blood and family lines.

What comes easily leaves quickly, and help is measured by the load.

Read a lot. Read from when you are young, and never stop learning.

Greatness belongs to God alone, and He alone is your master — but submit to every human order and pray for them.

God and His word do not change. Men have fathers, and a clear, continuous, rooted faith.

Be truthful and rooted, and give people their due; God sees. The world is crooked and soaked in evil, and it is never pleased.

Be chaste and honourable. Everything except honour. Your dignity and your respect for yourself and for people matter enormously.

You are not the centre of the universe.

Be wise as serpents first, then simple as doves. You are not in a monastic society; you are among wild animals — be wiser than the children of God.

Countries have customs, traits, and ruling spirits. Distinguish all of that when you deal with anyone.

I pray for awareness and understanding on every level, ahead of its time.

Tithing your time and your money matters more than what you feel like doing — and more than you know.

The blunt word to your friend about his ugly action is better than the oily word and the flattery. After a while you will know that the blunt word was sweeter.

Your relationships with God, yourself, your family, and your friends need watching, work, and daily effort. It never ends. Never.

Do everything the right way, after researching and reading everything you can. Information, my son, is very easy now.

Skill takes from you; it does not give. People — even the ugly ones — if you take from them, at least you will learn.

Nature, the earth, and creatures are part of everything that happens, spiritually and practically. You will learn a lot from them.

One of the marks of being a man is knowing how to take your right — even if your morals mean you will not do it.

Act with intelligence, for not every effort is rewarded. Do not give up if you have not fought legally.

Make this verse a ring in your ear: to everyone who has, more will be given; and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Spiritually… work… home… relationships… money… health… everything.

Memorise the Bible in your heart and your mind, and most importantly in your actions. It is the manual and the constitution. Read it through.

Tracing things back to their origins is useful and restful: don't reinvent the wheel, and don't move the boundaries your ancestors set. They will trip you.

Grandpa Maher's hymns — the ones he prayed over you, saying you would be set apart — will probably help you in every situation.

There have always been many saints in St George's church where you take communion, and many more in the cloud of witnesses. They are your family.

Your family tree matters. Know them and pray for them, even the ones you have never met.

Eat healthy, and protect your health, because it is a trust. We will give it back in the end.

Trade with your talents and profit, and win people with the money of this world.

You are an Eastern Egyptian man. Try to tell apart the strange and Western ideas in everything, because most of Western culture is surface.

Faith… hope… love.

Boundaries and distances keep all your relationships. Shepherd them with wisdom.

Don't repeat your mistakes too often. Learn from them.

May He give you what belongs to the one whose name you took at baptism — his spirit, his commitment, his care, and his fatherhood.

The sixteenth of March is your birthday, and a beautiful witness in most of the Scriptures. Learn from it and live it.

Nothing is easy.