Honor is an abstract concept. Honor based societies view the concept differently than societies that place less importance on it. I believe this is an important idea for men to understand.
What is Honor? Is it an emotion? You can say, "I feel honored" and people will totally understand you. Can you describe that feeling though?
In honor based culture's, honor is bound to societies perception of you. It is like a measure of worthiness. Landed members of a society need to be perceived as worthy of their privilege. Therefore, honor is something bestowed upon them. It can also be taken away. Phrases like "I am honored" and "He was dishonored" describe this process. The countless duels to the death over honor in years past remind us of how important honor used to be.
Honor based societies treat it like a commodity. You can earn honor through good deeds, it can be inherited, you can give it to someone, trade it away, and take it. Here's a thought experiment. If honor is a commodity, can it be tokenized?
Back to the topic. If honor is a feeling and not just a commodity then there must be an intrinsic factor to it. When someone says "I feel honored" what exactly are they feeling? If it's appreciation, why not just say "I appreciate" whatever the thing is. I think the difference is the nobility associated with honor that appreciation alone doesn't have. If you give someone money, they hopefully feel appreciation. But when you show another human being that you see the nobility within them, you honor them. You allow them to see the nobility within themselves. They might feel gratitude, but they also feel worthy.
Societies that don't value honor, don't have it to give. I believe this is the despair men feel in honorless societies. Honor is bound with worthiness. It is literally the measure of ones value to society. Without a road map to obtain honor men end up trapped in a cycle of despair.
Therefore, it is critically important to honor yourself. This is possible because it is really an intrinsic factor. You must see the nobility in yourself, and earn honor by making decisions that support your highest values. Every good decision you make adds one token of honor to your wallet.
