Random Thoughts on Awakening
By Roger L. Whiting
Fairly recently I had the most disconcerting occasion to find myself flat on my back in a hospital bed for four days, wearing an oxygen tube, and heart monitor while gobbling down massive doses of antibiotics and steroids. Somehow I had contracted a pretty severe pneumonia that had sucked all the fun out of the simple process called breathing. Actually, I was far too sick to be hospitalized as the continuous noise, disruptions, and interruptions generated by 35-40 hospital employees of various shapes, sizes, and descriptions made either sleep or rest a distant dream. However, that’s another story for another time.
Beyond my illness, and accompanying realization of mortality, lay a much deeper revelation – an awakening of my spirit if you will. There was plenty of time for reflection, introspection and analysis, both of my past life, and the uncertainty of what might lie ahead. Where had I been…and where am I going? Have I accomplished my life’s mission? What now, and how much time and energy do I have left on this earth?
In a recent interview the actor Dustin Hoffman was asked, “How does it feel to be 67?” His response was, “Well, when I was twenty I could easily look ahead to when I would be forty. When I was forty, I could visualize being eighty. At sixty-seven I can only envision the end of the tunnel.” Since I am now sixty-seven it has occurred to me that it is only in recent years have I realized the true meaning of my life. After 45 years in the financial services industry I can see the relative void within the corporate philosophy of, “How much money can you make for us? (and incidentally, for yourself?)” Quotas, contests, and exotic trips offered as incentives were the keystones of my daily life. My personal gratification was primarily derived from dollars and material success rather than any semblance of positive worth to myself, my family, my clients, or to the world.
My photographic safari to East Africa in 1996 was the beginning of a metamorphosis of my psyche – a gradual transformation of both my immediate objectives and long-range mission. Money became the instrument of empowerment of purpose – the means rather than the end. My internalized value of money and material goods was transformed as my commitment to helping others broadened. In fact, that safari, and the subsequent founding of Growth Through Learning in 1997, mark the beginning of that awakening.
During the recovery from my illness I also considered the objectives of GTL’s donors, especially those who are unusually generous. They have already discovered that doing for others is not only worthwhile…it is necessary. Giving of oneself is not a requirement of life, but it is a requirement for meaningful living. It is true. “You cannot keep what you do not give away.” Also, “You cannot give away what you do not possess.”
According to scientific principles darkness and cold do not exist. Darkness is merely the absence of light. Cold is the absence of heat. Utilizing similar logic we can conclude that peace is the absence of conflict, health is the absence of illness, ignorance is the absence of knowledge, and helplessness is the absence of empowerment. What better way to encompass life’s deeper meaning than to encourage and enable someone else to acquire peace, health, and knowledge and its resulting empowerment? Awakening to the needs of others is the pathway to feeling connected and part of a whole. By giving of ourselves we discover the true joy of our humanity. We do not have to live alone. As someone once said, “We are all in this together.” Together we are making a difference…and that’s what Growth Through Learning is all about.
Last modified: Mar 08, 2005, 21:33 EST