Rover Squire Vigil Questions

Dear Rover Scout Members of R4LA, I’m hoping that my sharing of my answers to my Rover Squire Vigil questions as I prepare to be invested as a Rover Scout/Knight will help you and your Rover Crew Brothers & Sisters in your journeys!

ROVER KNIGHT VIGIL QUESTIONS
Name of Rover Squire: Ken Pataky
Date of Vigil: 10/20/2019

1) Am I making the best use of the life that I have been given? I am not sure, but I strive to always. I constantly pray about that, for guidance and support from the Universe, from God and all positive Beings, to help me determine what is the best path to achieve happiness, peace, and be of greatest service to our species and the planet. I have been offered an opportunity to move far away and help a tribe of people I feel are more like me than my current location, but I am struggling with loyalty issues to my current community. I am praying hard for guidance on that now. I don’t want to use the excuse of loyalty to cover up potential fear of change which may deny me a great opportunity. I am exploring whether I can live and serve in both places, which would be ideal. I am also trying hard to develop more time & energy to complete my PhD, which is primarily a remote, self-study program.

2) Am I frittering it away, in doing nothing that counts, that is, wasting it? I don’t believe so.

3) Am I working at things that are not doing any good to anybody? Occasionally, but not often.

4) Am I seeking too much for my own enjoyment, moneymaking, or promotion without trying to help other people? I don’t believe that is me.

5) Whom have I injured or hurt in my life? Can I make amends? I have done my best to make amends and peace with all whom I have injured. I have forgiven all whom have harmed me, and I have forgiven myself for my own shortcomings. My marriage is a constant training ground to move forward w/o hurting each other emotionally due to our weaknesses, yet I/we do our best to make amends day-to-day.

6) Whom have I helped in my life? Is there anyone else I can help? I have helped many people in my life for over 3 decades, in my professional roles as manager, teacher, counselor…in my volunteer roles as Scouting leader, athletics coach, church group leader…and in my personal role as husband, father, son.

7) Am I joining Rovering only for the fun that I can get out of it? That is part of it…but a better part of it is that I enjoy being of service, being a leader, leading by example, helping others, helping leave the world better than I found it. Without that, being a Rover would mean little to me.

8) Am I determined to put real self-sacrificing Service into it? Absolutely, but never losing sight of who I am and what I need to stay happy, peaceful, and in balance. Holistic health is central to my life, and I constantly strive to stay in balance.

9) What do I mean by Service? Service to me means helping others the way THEY feel they need to be helped, as long as that is a healthy and ethical need/goal. It means sometimes doing things that are not convenient and that are not compensated, other than the joy or positive feeling of being of service. It means doing my best to serve in the best way I know how when I am needed…and to ask for feedback, to make sure the party receiving the service is benefiting from THEIR point of view.

10) Do I really think of others, rather than myself, in my plans or undertaking? I try to. I have built my life around doing that. Yet, I am strong-minded in my plans for my own life and don’t like to limit those on account of others. I have a dream and vision that I truly want to live out in this world. This dream is about helping others and contributing to make the world a truly better and healthier place for us all.

11) What kind of Service am I best suited to do? At home? At work? In my spare time? I think I was born to be a leader, but less a manager/director than a teacher/counselor. I can manage if I need to, but it’s not my preference. For example, I prefer to be a Crew Advisor rather than a Troop Scoutmaster. I am great at planning & organizing, teaching & leading by example, encouraging & supporting people. Health & wellness—physical, emotional & spiritual—is my specialty. I am well-trained in the Outdoors and hope to inspire others to leave their technology behind and join me in exploring how beautiful, sacred and healing our natural world is…and to fight to protect and preserve it!

12) Am I determined to give up bad habits acquired in the past? I am. As long as I can remember, I have tried to constantly improve my character and strive to be the best person I can be. I have a lot of self-discipline, and I ask for the guidance and feedback of God and the intelligent Universe daily.

13) What are the weak points in my character? At times, I go to sleep too late, mostly due to interacting with media, and occasionally lose my patience & temper, and occasionally use foul language.

14) Am I absolutely honorable and trustworthy? I can say that I am a most honorable & trustworthy person. No one is perfect, so absolute is a strong word.

15) Am I loyal to God and/or my conscience, my country, my employers, those under me, the Scout Movement, my friends, family, and myself? I try to be, yes. I choose not to have an employer, because I don’t want to compromise my integrity, working under others who are determining what I do and what the company does. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made. Yet, my clients are my employers now, and I am loyal to them. I am loyal to my family and help them whenever asked and beyond that, too. I love the idea of my country, but I am deeply dissatisfied with the corrupt leadership, corporations, and uber-wealthy which have taken over and constantly deprive the majority of our fellow citizens (and those of other countries) of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have been at war for 227 of our 243 years as a nation, and we have become primarily an imperialist nation, aggressively invading and pillaging poorer, weaker countries for the wealth of a tiny majority—including members of this cabal who are not American citizens—and are throwing the lives of our young, innocent soldiers under the bus in doing so. It is very difficult to be loyal to such a country. So, I am loyal to the PEOPLE of my country, but not to its corrupt government, military, corporations, or banks. I am loyal to those in the Scouting movement who understand what I am talking about and who share my passion to return freedom to the 99.8% of American people currently under siege and to release the world from the tyranny of the 0.2%. I am loyal to myself most of the time, except when I allow myself to not get enough rest.

16) Am I good tempered, cheery, and kind to others? I try to be and succeed most of the time, but not always. Sometimes, I become discouraged and disillusioned with the state of our world, which I why I regained the Scouting movement. I feel as I’ve become happier and more peaceful, grateful for my life, these moods have decreased in frequency and duration. It helps to be living consistently under the Scout Law & Oath again, making these a part of my daily life.

17) Am I sober, clean living, and clean speaking? For the 1st two, I can say yes with confidence. For the last one, I do occasionally use foul language, which I regret and which I am trying to change. I am committed to doing so, especially with the support of the Scout Law & Oath and reading the works of Baden-Powell and actively committing to these ideals daily.

18) Have I courage and patience to stick it out when things are going against me? I do have incredible endurance & perseverance and greater than average patience, though at times, especially when I am not well rested, I do become impatient. I rarely give up, unless I feel the process I’m struggling with is actually hurting me or someone else.

19) Have I a mind of my own, or do I allow myself to be carried away by the persuasion of others? I would say that having a mind of my own has always been one of my greatest strengths, and I have at times suffered for it…though I won’t change it, though I strive not to harm others or be arrogant. 
20) Am I strong minded enough to ward off the temptations to abuse drugs, alcohol, or to harm other people? Yes, without a doubt.

21) Am I weak in some of these things? Do I resolve here and now to do my best to correct them and give them up? I resolve here and now to do my best to correct all things mentioned here.

22) May I have the strength to go forward henceforth a complete person, a true citizen, and a credit to my country and to Scouting? That is my absolute goal, from this moment forward, strengthened and buttressed by this Vigil and by being active again in Scouting, as a Rover and Scouter. I treasure this opportunity, and am so glad that the Rovering program exists, so I can continue the work began as a young Scout decades ago…now with much greater maturity, self-awareness, and wisdom to improve myself and the world.

​Chief Rover Scout, Ken Pataky