“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But…the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
Too often, the notion of service to others can become skewed.
Regarded as a transaction. A form of interpersonal commerce. “If I do this, what will you do for me? ” Or, “What do I get out of it? A character revealing moment if there ever was one.
When you reach out, and offer your hand to pick someone up , the only thing they need give you is theirs.
True character in action recognizes that the getting is always in the giving.
A return on your small investment of immeasurable and lasting value.
“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.” — John Buchan
We are all meant to be extraordinary.
Each of us a masterpiece in our own way, with abilities and talents to be maximized, and capacities to be filled. All of which are intended to compliment the whole. For each of us is meant to have an impact. Each of us matters.
From a team perspective, it is leadership’s first mission to grasp this essential truth.
For, once you are able to see yourself in this light, then you will be able to see others from this same perspective. You will then be in a position to solicit their talents and abilities, enriching them as you begin to enrich the whole as well.
As you bring their strengths to bear and push them towards the pursuit of excellence, then work can commence on their potential. That untapped resource residing in us all. A reserve that is far more about capacity than it is weakness. The part in us that is meant to be “full-filled.”
Leadership, then, is not merely the act of soliciting that “something” from those around us. It is more so the endeavor of eliciting that something special that lay within all of us.
For so many of the great figures of salvation history—Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, David and the like—a period of testing or trial was mandated before they could commence their work.
The goal of this Biblical initiation ritual was to initiate a deep discernment to convey a simple truth: your life is not about you. It is about God and His purposes for you.
This was the purpose of Jesus’s forty-day sojourn in the desert; our model during Lent.
The desert represents a stripping away of our attachments, so as to make the fundamental things appear. In the desert, there are no distractions or diversions or secondary matters. Everything is basic, necessary, and simple. Either one survives or one doesn’t. One finds in the desert strengths and weaknesses he never knew he had.
Whether it be Lent or some other moment in your life, are you ready to visit your desert?
Are you prepared to engage in this level of self assessment and discernment? Deal with your particular temptations to pleasure, power, money, and honor? Discover your strengths, embrace your weaknesses and then let go to let God?
Even if in the past, you have not succeeded in the ways you wanted or thought you should, remember that our God is One of second chances. It’s never too late to start again and recommit ourselves and journey into the desert.
Once. Twice. Or a dozen.
You will never be alone throughout these journeys in your desert.
“The wise men came to Bethlehem and gave the child their precious gifts. When you come to Christ, break open the very best of yourself and make it a gift for him.
Finally, they returned to their home country by another route. As Fulton Sheen commented so magnificently: “Of course they did; for no one comes to Christ and goes back the same way he came!”
Bishop Barron – Daily Gospel Reflections, Sunday, January 7, 2024.
Some time ago, I got lost on my way towards Bethlehem. Not that I am or ever will be a wiseman. Just that I too saw the guiding warmth in that star. I wanted nothing more than to be there for and with Him. Unfortunately, I got lost. I chose selfish defiance instead of selfless reliance. Since then, I have been working to find my way back ever since.
Sad to say, when I can finally return in full, I will not be able to break open the very best of myself as my gift to Him.
I will only be able to share my utter brokenness.
He deserves better. But for now, that is all I have.
But I know now that He understands the nature of my gift and is ok with that. He simply wishes for a relationship. Friendship. A bond. Love.
He knows for a fact that anyone that comes to Him is most likely broken in some fashion. In need of reassurance. Repair. Redemption. And resurrection. He knows that anyone that comes to Him does not go back the same way. His loving touch changes everything.
His gift to me.
That is exactly what I am counting on.
That is what I desperately need.
That is what I know for a fact will ultimately come to save me.
My journey may have taken me towards Him from one direction.
In its most basic sense, a word from the ancient Greeks meaning “excellence of any kind”.
Taking a bit of semantic and philosophical license, Areté could be defined as “moral virtue”. And given the nature of that concept – virtue – it stands to reason that excellence is derivative of virtuous thoughts, words and deeds. Of doing the right thing.
For as Plato said, “We do not act rightly because we are excellent, in fact we achieve excellence by acting rightly.” Greek mythology made Areté divinity; the goddess of virtue, excellence, goodness and valour.
“There is a tale that Areté dwells on unclimbable rocks and close to the gods, tending a holy place. She may not be seen by the eyes of all mortals, but only by him on whom distressing sweat comes from within, the one who reaches the peak of manliness.”
An acknowledgement that excellence is a higher standing. A path that is intended to be a struggle. A challenge. A journey to elicit excellence.
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle – the renowned triumvirate of Greek philosophers, teachers and orators – spent their lives in the pursuit of understanding our human condition. Discerning how best to find our rightful place. Here, in the mortal world, and within the universe, among the divine.
Since its earliest appearance in Greek, there is the idea that Areté was ultimately bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function: the act of living up to one’s full potential.
Throughout the Homeric poems, Areté is frequently associated with bravery, but more often, with effectiveness. The man or woman of Areté is a person of the highest effectiveness; they use all their faculties: strength, bravery and wit, to achieve real results. In the Homeric world, then, Areté involves all of the abilities and potentialities available to humans.
In the mortal sense, excellence is about making the most of all that we are and all that we have – to become all you were meant to be. In so doing, you endeavor to approach the divine, by acting rightly.
We strive because there is virtue in it. We strive, because it is the right thing to do. More than just a word, motto or mindset. Arete – excellence – is a mandate. A command.
Michaelangelo could also have heard this command. To make the absolute most of his abilities and potential. And by virtue of his actions, become a true renaissance man.
“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful after all.” he is said to have remarked. Stating what could be a common refrain for those that choose to pursue excellence. For it is work. And only committed, ceaseless effort can render such compelling results.
Michelangelo was not only regarded as the greatest living artist of his lifetime, but is now considered to be one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most compelling and famous in existence. His output in every field during his long life was prodigious. When the sheer volume of his correspondence, sketches, and reminiscences that survive are taken into account, he is the best documented artist of the 16th century.”
It may not have dawned on him – as he was putting the finishing touches on that chapel ceiling or inscribing his name on Mary’s sash of marble – that his efforts would some day make him a man with global impact. But then again, he was pursuing excellence. A level of excellence that to this day inspires artisans, architects and others to aspire.
John Uebersax sought to sum it up in this fashion: “No English word or phrase captures the exact meaning of Areté . The nearest equivalents are ‘excellence’ and ‘virtue’. But there is something more to Areté which cannot be expressed in words. There is something of the divine in it.”*
From a mortal perspective; we are commanded to make the most of all that we are and all that we have. To become all we are meant to be. By accepting this edict, we can then endeavor to approach the divine. By virtue of our right thoughts, words and deeds, we can climb those unclimbable rocks.
To that place where Arete dwells. For…” in the moment of excellence, something transcends the mundane and touches the ideal.”
...my temporary assignment. 