Giving of Oneself

In the mid-1970s my wife and I were involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters in central Wisconsin. We both found a great deal of fun and fulfillment in our matches—Pam with Cindy and me with Scott. At the annual banquet held for volunteers, the keynote speaker was the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (and later Governor of Wisconsin), Lee Sherman Dreyfus. The crux of the message he gave us was to do unto and for others. The one thought he left and which resonated with me down through the years was, that when you get toward the end of your life, ask yourself the question: “What did I do with my life and for whom did I do it?”

I find myself asking that same question on pretty much a daily basis. My basic philosophy of life is that we are all put on this Earth to be of service to others. It can be in the simplest of acts—holding the door for an older person; or simply waiting that extra second or two to allow the other car to proceed. Muhammad Ali has said that service to others is the rent we pay for our room here on Earth. How true! Roberto Clemente, the late great Pittsburgh Pirate centerfielder once said, “Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on this Earth.” He was killed on a volunteer mission to aid earthquake victims in Nicaragua. He certainly had the opportunity to make things better and was doing so when he paid the ultimate price.

In closing the circle I started at the beginning, I would like to share another resonating quote, this one from Benjamin Franklin: “In the morning ask yourself, ‘What good shall I do today?’ As the day draws to a close, ask yourself, ‘What good did I do today?’” If we all do as he recommends, the ultimate question posed at the beginning will have an easy answer.