Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day, and the question posed to us by the good reverend is: what are we doing for others?
I have to admit I’m not doing enough. I seem to be absorbed in my petty microcosm, but it’s starting to slowly change. I’m realizing that a life of self-absorption is not a very worthy one, and that true fulfillment comes from service to others.
Just in the past few weeks, upon the new year, I’ve begun to feel lighter, less heavy, because I’m emerging out of my shell and into the world among people. I feel the need to work with people towards great progress. Take a stand in the world. Trade in some intellect for sweat equity.
There is no substitute for hard work. This I know. Right now I’m faced with the most formidable challenge to work my way out of the shadows and into the light, to a better life. Says Barack Obama today (and this confirms my long-held convictions):
We became enraptured with the false prophets who prophesized an easy path to success, paved with credit cards and home equity loans and get-rich-quick schemes, and the most important thing was to be a celebrity; it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you get on TV. That’s everybody.
And so the message of the day is two-fold: work hard for yourself and for others. Don’t accept an easy path. Stick to your faith and principles.
It’s so easy to wake up every day and course through life expecting people to take care of you. Your leaders, your community, your job, your family. But it doesn’t work that way. While there is a structure in place (usually), that structure is no more than a foundation for us to improve upon, to evolve and make better for others in the future.
Therefore, it’s important to treat what good we have as a gift and a challenge.