Every 4th of July for the past 12 years, at about 8:30 PM, you would have found me standing up on the sidewalk above our neighborhood, waiting for the City of Aliso Viejo fireworks display to start. There is this perfect spot right there on the sidewalk where not only can I see the fireworks display from my city, but also no less than six other fireworks displays across the valley. While the trees have grown over the years, blocking more and more of the fireworks each year, and the length and size of the displays have grown and shrunk with the ups and downs of the economy, each and every single year has still been a sight to behold.
Some years, I’ve been up there in shorts and a polo shirt, sweating because it has been so hot, and other years, I’ve been up there in pants, a polo shirt and a jacket, and still been cold. But, one thing has remained constant year after year - each and every time I stand there waiting for those fireworks to start, I am grateful to the people who made this nation in which I live possible, and each and every person who has touched my life in some way, leading me to that very moment, standing there on that sidewalk.
The people I think of the most as I wait for the fireworks that honor the struggles of our nation are the people who taught me that with hard work and dedication, technically, anything is possible. Each time I stand there, I look back on each and every previous year, and I find myself better off each year than I was the year before. And to what do I owe this continual betterment, year after year? You guessed it...hard work.
Two of the hardest working people I have ever met in the course of my life are my grandparents, who despite coming from big families that did not have much, managed to work hard all their lives, raise two children, three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and to this day continue to help, guide and inspire a whole mess of other kids and young adults whose lives they touch. They are two of the most giving and generous people I have ever encountered, and while still from humble means, give more than could ever be expected of anyone. And their ability to give has come from, you guessed it...their hard work.
And the benefit of hard work is the lesson they continue to teach each and every one of us, every day. In fact, my grandparents have a wonderful poem about hard work hanging on their kitchen wall right next to their pictures of all of us. It was given to my grandmother by a friend, and she has always taken great pride in not only displaying the proverb, but sharing its message with us.
I recently set out to find the origins of the poem which has appeared in numerous publications over the past hundred years and has been attributed to more than a few sources, including an Indian self-help guru, a Norwegian magazine editor and an author that to the best of my knowledge never actually existed. Even though I could not pin down the poem’s actual and true origin or it’s original title, I wanted to share it with you exactly as it has appeared on my grandparents’ wall for as long as I can remember:
Work. Work. Work.
If you are poor, work. If you are rich, work. If you are burdened with seemingly unfair responsibilities, work.
If you are happy, continue to work; idleness gives room for doubts and fears. If sorrow overwhelms you, and loved ones seem not true, work. If disappointments come, work.
If faith falters and reason fails, just work. When dreams are shattered and hopes seem dead – work. Work as if your life were in peril, it really is.
No matter what ails you, work. Work faithfully, and work with faith. Work is the greatest material remedy available. Work will cure both mental and physical afflictions.
So, this 4th of July, at about 8:30 PM, I am going to be up there on that sidewalk, waiting for the fireworks to start, remembering all of the hard work that got us to that very moment and anticipating all of the hard work that is going to guide our lives over the coming 365 days until I find myself in that exact spot again next year. I hope you will join me today in not only reflecting on the hard work and dedication that went into the birth of this nation, but also in not forgetting that it is hard work and dedication that makes so much in our lives possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment