Jeff Goins the author of The In-Between: Embracing The Tension Between Now And The Next Big Thing is presently in the African country of Uganda. While in Uganda he has been visiting with underprivileged and at risk children in the country's slums. I have been reading his blog posts about his experiences with the children and their families. While writing about his experiences in the country, he has also written about about the lives of the people he has come across. Because he made the deliberate decision to go to Uganda, his life has intersected with those of the people he has met. Because of this deliberate and intentional meeting, their lives have been forever changed.
Today he wrote about the power the words we speak or write have. He tells the story of a 25 year old mother of four children who ran away from home and ended up in the capital of the country at the age of 12. She ended up being a prostitute and getting into destructive relationships. Her oldest child is currently in a programme run by the international charity Compassion where thanks to the sponsorship of people in the United Kingdom. According to Jeff, the exchange of letters between the boy and his sponsors made him realise how little communication he had previously had with the child he sponsors.
While reading the story, it strengthened the beliefs I had about why we are all here. Recently I have been thinking about the fact that we are all here not because of ourselves but because of others. For the past few years, people have been talking about how people need to become all they can be. While I don't have a problem with wanting to be the best and reaching the top of your profession, I believe that more importantly, we are here to reach out and help others. People think that all you need to be happy is to do things that will make you happy. But I believe the secret to being happy is to make other people happy. That I believe is the difference between being known and being remembered. For me, being known is all about doing all the right things regarding our careers such that we are famous and regarded and possibly rich. Being remembered is all about touching people's lives such that when we are gone, people bless God for us. Personally I believe Steve Jobs is well known but Mother Theresa will forever be remembered.
We were not put on this earth to think only of ourselves or what we can be if only we put our minds to it. I believe we are on this earth to help as many people as we can as we come across them on our way to where we are going. And it's not about money. It's about giving our time, our words, any thing we can give to help. And it's not only about strangers in far corners of the world. Our parents, children, spouses and friends are part of the people we need to help. When we do this, we fill not only find happiness, I believe we will find ourselves.
Today he wrote about the power the words we speak or write have. He tells the story of a 25 year old mother of four children who ran away from home and ended up in the capital of the country at the age of 12. She ended up being a prostitute and getting into destructive relationships. Her oldest child is currently in a programme run by the international charity Compassion where thanks to the sponsorship of people in the United Kingdom. According to Jeff, the exchange of letters between the boy and his sponsors made him realise how little communication he had previously had with the child he sponsors.
While reading the story, it strengthened the beliefs I had about why we are all here. Recently I have been thinking about the fact that we are all here not because of ourselves but because of others. For the past few years, people have been talking about how people need to become all they can be. While I don't have a problem with wanting to be the best and reaching the top of your profession, I believe that more importantly, we are here to reach out and help others. People think that all you need to be happy is to do things that will make you happy. But I believe the secret to being happy is to make other people happy. That I believe is the difference between being known and being remembered. For me, being known is all about doing all the right things regarding our careers such that we are famous and regarded and possibly rich. Being remembered is all about touching people's lives such that when we are gone, people bless God for us. Personally I believe Steve Jobs is well known but Mother Theresa will forever be remembered.
We were not put on this earth to think only of ourselves or what we can be if only we put our minds to it. I believe we are on this earth to help as many people as we can as we come across them on our way to where we are going. And it's not about money. It's about giving our time, our words, any thing we can give to help. And it's not only about strangers in far corners of the world. Our parents, children, spouses and friends are part of the people we need to help. When we do this, we fill not only find happiness, I believe we will find ourselves.
JC Cruz is the author of
DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers, http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can
follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal.
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