The Ultimate Gift
Most of us will never be forced to take the higher moral ground in
life-or-death situations, which should make us grateful
but not diminish the forays we do make in helping others.
-The Miracle Collectors
This month, Katie reflects on the importance of causes that are larger than we are and take us outside of ourselves. Wherever you are, we hope you find time to appreciate the power of something beyond ourselves.
Chasing Miracles One Moment at a Time…
Chasing and collecting miracles has taught me many lessons, recognizing the importance of a higher purpose chief among them. As Joan and I have enjoyed a writing partnership for over twenty years, there have been times of impasse and disagreement with breakthroughs and consensus easier to reach when we are reminded of the ultimate goal, a goal that is bigger than either one of us. Most people I know have donated their time or money for a cause that will not bring them personal gain, whether it is tutoring a child, contributing to a GoFundMe page, or delivering meals to the sick and elderly. Many of the stories we have heard over the years involve someone heeding the call of Rabbi Hillel centuries ago: “If not me, who? If not now, when?” Never has this call felt as far reaching and imperative as when I came face to face with the white crosses and stars of David on a recent trip to Normandy.
I knew the history of the slaughter at Omaha Beach on D-Day and had seen photographs of the American Cemetery there, but I was completely unprepared for the thousands upon thousands of graves that seem to go on for eternity; the collective sacrifice impossible to fathom, the higher cause impossible to overstate. Here lay the remains of 10,000 Americans representing a minority of those killed in the name of freedom from tyranny and evil. It is a gut-check to feel this humbled and grateful in the presence of so many ordinary young men who rose to do extraordinary things. There is beauty, serenity, and honor here, and an aura of good that permeates the landscape, a fitting legacy to those who stepped up in the nick of time to turn the tide of a war with civilization at stake.
I wonder what the boys who never came home might have done with one more day, what they could teach us about gratitude and giving back. Viktor Frankl, a survivor of Auschwitz, knew a thing or two about what was at stake and later wrote, “…success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself.” He understood that finding meaning in our life is inextricably linked to connecting to a higher purpose, which thankfully for most of us doesn’t involve saving the world or paying the ultimate price. Simply identifying the needs in the world around you will do – giving of yourself. In the silence of the American Cemetery in France, the message is loud and clear. (Katie)