Thursday; March 16

I have been watching the World Baseball Classic this week. Not only am I a baseball junkie, I am fascinated by just how many great ballplayers there are from all around the world. I realize that there may be less than six degrees of separation between some players and the clubs they play for, but there are still a lot of people who are getting to showcase their skills and their national pride. Baseball has a long tradition in the Americas and it is as popular in the Latin American countries as it is anywhere. While there have been a lot of great ballplayers who have come out of these areas, one of the most notable is Roberto Clemente. The Puerto Rican put up some incredible numbers, but may be best known for being killed in a plane crash trying to deliver relief supplies to Nicaragua following an earthquake in 1972. The other day, I came across a Clemente quote, “If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this earth.”. Roberto Clemente’s lasting legacy wasn’t cemented by his abilities on the ballfield, his true greatness came from his willingness to help others.

What kind of legacy are we leaving? Are we banking on the fact that we will earn enough money to be remembered? Are we hoping we’ll write enough commentary on social media that we’ll change society? Honestly, the best way to accomplish something important is by helping others better themselves. No, we may never reach the status held by Clemente nor gain recognition for dying for our cause, but when we work to make lives better, we truly will be leaving people (and this world) better than we found it.

Think About It! 

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more