Heroism Through Service.

Heroism Through Service:

Life is fleeting; you are here today and gone tomorrow. And yet life goes on. With time you become a vague memory even to those who claimed they could not do without you. The glory and the limelight of life are painfully transient.

Nothing and no one is permanent; not even you. So, take it easy and do not be haughty, naughty or droughty. Think and work more for a good legacy and not just for material things or personal gain or pleasure and leisure. 

You see, your real fingerprint on life, your true legacy, is not your wealth, position or fame (those too are painfully transient!) but the nature of the impact your life has on others. How is your life impacting your family, your relations, your friends and your community? Is it a positive impact - one that brings increase and greater understanding and harmony - or is it a negative impact - one that brings decrease and creates more problems and disharmony? Are you a positive contributor or a negative distraction?

Think more, therefore, of how to increase your contribution to life and not just on how to amass wealth and increase your personal comfort levels and glory. Life finds meaning and purpose in contribution (giving) and not in greedy accumulation (taking). It is by giving that we actually increase. The river that has generous outflows will always receive refreshing inflows.

I was once told the story of someone who lived big and amassed a huge personal fortune, but had no one at his funeral (except the undertaker!) because he led a very selfish and negative life. His fingerprint on life was so bad that his children rejected the inheritance he left them. His case was that bad. He was a villain.

Another man died with almost nothing in his account, but the whole community turned up for his funeral and testified to his selfless and positive life. He invested his time and resources into serving others and building the community. There was no family in that community that his life did not impact on positively. He was celebrated by all. He was missed by all. He was a true hero.

You see, when we think less of self and more of others; when we seek less for self and more for others; when we do less for self and more for others; when we look out more for others and less for self; we unleash a powerful positive force that leaves an indelible mark on the sands of time, a legacy that holds us up above the mundane into the realms of the extraordinary. We become celebrated. We become true heroes.

This is how Sylvia Mary Matthews Burwell, an American government and nonprofit executive, puts it:

"Day after day, ordinary people become heroes through extraordinary and selfless actions to help their neighbors."

There is nothing greater than selfless service in bringing out the goodness and greatness in humanity and pushing communities towards fulfilling their potential and attaining a higher standard of living. Communities that encourage and promote selfless service are growing, secure and prosperous communities. Selfless service builds the commonwealth and beautifies the realm. That is where we all ought to be.

So, I ask you my friend, where are you standing at this moment? On the slippery and transient grounds of selfishness - which results in all forms of corruption - or on the solid and fertile grounds of service - which promotes justice and egalitarianism? Are you a hero in the making or a budding villain? What are you doing right at this moment; giving or taking?

True champions are men and women of selfless commitment to training. True leaders are men and women of selfless commitment to duty. True patriots are men and women of selfless commitment to country. True heroes are men and women of selfless commitment to service. Everything truly great has selflessness as the underlaying and underpinning factor. Heroism is service raised to the power of selflessness and multiplied by consistency.

Let me leave you with three (3) quotations that buttress the fact and need for heroism through selfless service.

1. America fictional writer and one of the top grossing female writers in the world, Jodi Picoult, has these words to say about true heroes and heroism:

""Heroes didn't leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn't wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else's. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back." - Jodi Picoult, 

2. Gerard Way, American singer, songwriter, musician and comic book writer, defines heroes simply as:

"Heroes are ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary " - Gerard Way.

3. Former American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam titles, and first blackman in the United States Davies Cup team, and the only blackman ever to win singles title at Wimbledon, Arthur Ashe, puts it in this powerful way:

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost" - Arthur Ashe.

I encourage you, therefore, to walk the path of honour. Give time to selfless service. Build our beloved country through selfless service and commitment to doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances. Be a true Nigerian hero. The country awaits you.

I remain yours truly, Agoso Bamaiyi, your friend for a greater Nigeria and the best things in life.