What would you do for a neighbor? An elderly man chops wood in his backyard, not wood for the later warmth of his own home but that of his neighbor. It was like any other day, he wouldn’t last long and his wife needed his help as soon as he got in, but he was outside to get the job done and on this day that task was to chop wood. He chopped the wood, graciously filled his neighbors pile and spared what little he had left for himself. Accomplishing not only a task but a random act of kindness, he headed in to tend to his spouse. He walked back up to the house, into the garage and sat down on the step in front of the door. At ease, finally off his feet, this man untied his boots, laid his head back against the door and calmly took his last breath.
This man was my grandfather; he was the definition of altruism. One of my favorite teachers once said, “One of the best gifts you could ever give a person is something in which they can’t return.” My grandfather’s death defined his life; his neighbor can’t ever repay him for the wood. He gave everything and anything he had to others and never expected anything, nor wanted anything in return. He is the most selfless person I’ve ever known, one in which I miss greatly, and one whole taught not only me but our community what comes with such a noble lifestyle. His life brought happiness and a love that is unfathomable, it united a community like nothing I’ve seen before and brought inspiration from every direction.
My grandfather moved in every direction, seemed to be everywhere in everyone’s life. He made it to nearly all of his 8 grandchildren’s sporting events, coached one in baseball, had coffee with his buddies once a week, played cards with friends regularly, worked outdoors, kept up a house, helped his wife, went to church, always had a smile on his face and always seemed to love life. One of the most altruistic qualities about this man was his willingness to give up his time. Time is one of the greatest gifts life has to offer, it is so precious and my grandpa hardly ever had any time to himself. You would think frustration would come of not having time to yourself, but the minute this man walked through any door to a room full of familiar faces, a sense of calming love filled the air. Giving up all of your time to others is like living your entire life for other people. That’s what this goodhearted person did and the lifestyle that came with it seems really desirable. Living a life of love and happiness is what a successful life is. No matter where this gracious man was, whether praising God at church or drinking coffee, love and happiness were always present because of his benevolence.
When his big kind heart was still beating, there’s no doubt that joy was flowing within the veins, but when we lost him, his joy brought us something new. It’s true when people say, “you never know what you’ve lost until it’s gone.” I knew my grandfather was a bighearted man, but I didn’t know his love and happiness was nearly endless. Over 500 people showed up at his wake. Being selfless is one thing, but being able to unite a community when you have nothing left to give is incomprehensible to me. The people that showed up that day were indeed a community, my grandfather’s community. He brought so many people love and happiness that every live he touched gathered to pay respect to all he had done for them, because no one could ever repay him for those cherished gifts he gave. It’s not easy uniting hundreds of people together let alone uniting hundreds of people to support one thing, one life. Time is meaningful to people, it is well cherished, and this community tells me that compassionate souls have a sense of power, the power to unite.
Altruism is like a snowball effect, one thing after another, pure unselfish acts bring happiness and love, this joyous pair unites a community and from here it only gets better with inspiration. With this power to unite, inspiration is everywhere. There are just so many things that could inspire one. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’ve surely been inspired by my grandpa’s purity and all what has come from his life. After his death, I started volunteering more; I became more involved with the church and overall started to find myself. My grandfather inspired me to give as much of my time to others as I can. I’ve found that this time is the most precious when I’m volunteering. There is something about putting yourself in an unfamiliar environment talking to someone you’ve never seen before that just keeps me coming back for more. I’ve helped out with dementia patience in old folk’s homes, I’ve served breakfast to underprivileged women and children, helped build a community garden, renovate a house, coach a little kids’ soccer team, tutor peers, and I could keep going, but will keep going in life in giving my time. It’s a constant struggle to stay selfless from this time I give, for I get so much out of all that I do. I don’t know how my grandpa did it and it will always be a mystery to me, but one thing will always be clear and that is that altruism is contagious. It is a desired lifestyle and one that inspires anyone who witnesses it firsthand to want to achieve it.
Altruism is driven by love and happiness, they steer the ship. They lead to a uniting of many and end with the inspiration for a new ship to set sail. It is a never ending process, yet the boats are weak and there are so many to be sent out to sea. My grandfather defined altruism for me, devoted his life to everyone around him and simply just did what he was put on this earth for. There is no doubt that I aspire to be what all my grandpa was and still is to me, he inspired me to be who I am today and to continue to be who I am for the rest of my life. I will always give my time volunteering, I will continue to cherish the time I’ve got on this earth, and even though I can’t see what changes I make in my community, I can only hope that in following this great man’s footsteps, I am uniting and inspiring a community of my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment