Amit Srivastava
Today I have the pleasure to see two Eagle’s soar out of our Troop’s nest.
A Scoutmaster learns something new at every Court of Honor, especially an Eagle Court of Honor. So what have I learned today?
I learned that being a leader is not enough to attain the rank of Eagle. Don’t get me wrong. Learning to be a leader is very important, and is vital for a Scout to become an Eagle. But it’s just not enough. A Scout must be a successful follower also. Surprised?
Eagle Scouts don’t just show up in the sky. A Scout must want to attain the rank, usually from an early age. I’ve observed that many Eagle candidates said they first gave serious thought to becoming an Eagle at the first Eagle Court of Honor they attended, often as a new Scout or Tenderfoot. From that point forward, they had a dream to become an Eagle. The successful ones followed that dream, and moved on along the Eagle Trail.
This troop and our scouts have built a great legacy of turning scouts into Eagle. I se this desire to earn Eagle in our Scouts. I am very proud to have seen 3 scouts from our troop reach the rank of Eagle while have been part of this troop.
Throughout his Scouting career, a Scout is often tested, and in those situations, he has to follow his heart, to keep up his spirit, his stamina, his mental toughness. I know that Tushar and Omkar have faced many, many challenges along their Eagle Trail. But that didn’t lose their spirit. They followed their heart, and they moved on along the Trail.
Often as a younger Scout (and as an older one, too), a boy has to decide which path to take. Sometimes the decision is clear, there is a right way and a wrong way. Sometimes the decision only becomes clear after you look back. And sometimes the choice is never clear, and even months or years later you’re not sure that you made the correct decision, that you took the right path. In many situations, the Eagle candidate must follow his gut. Call it intuition, experience, or even a guess. The Eagle knows he has to make a decision, a choice. And using all of his resources, including his gut level sense of right and wrong, he follows that sense, and moves on along the Trail.
And of course, the Eagle Candidate follows the advice of his parents, his Scoutmasters, his Eagle Advisor, other family members, teachers, friends, girlfriends or even strangers. Some of the advice is good; some of the advice is shall we say , better. The successful Eagle Scout learns which advice to discard and which to follow, and he moves on along the Trail.
What I learned today, or maybe what I relearned today is that Eagle Scouts are as good at following as they are at leading, and maybe, just maybe, that made the difference. Maybe that is one of the reasons Omkar & Tushar are here standing before us as Eagle Scouts.
Congratulations Omkar & Tushar as you embark on your new journey and the change you will embrace. As Mr. Nimoy once said, change is the essential process of all existence. Live Long and Prosper.
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