A Legacy of Love

For the several days following my arrival at Frans Dimbare, there was an assortment of feelings that I experienced. I had many highs, and equally as many lows. It was a rollercoaster period that was draining and energizing all at the same time. I had met with various coworkers and organizations that I would be working with, and while I felt entirely encouraged and motivated by the energy and enthusiasm of the people around me, I was also afraid that I might not be able to live up to their expectations. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to fulfill the job and tasks that I had been assigned to do.

I had been given the title and responsibility of Acting Health Youth Officer for the centre. Basically what that means is that I am supposed to be in charge of all of the health programs for the Ministry of Youth in the region that the youth centre serves. That includes tens of thousands of people, spread over an enormous area of land (the size of a small state), where people are sparsely populated and not easily accessible. And all the while, I have to share unreliable and often incapacitated transportation, and I have extremely limited resources and language skills.

Had it not been for the incredible people that work at the youth centre, or the motivation of the local youth, or the support and encouragement from people back at home, I would have probably given up already. Because how can one person possibly manage to reach all of those people? By myself, what work can I really accomplish? Alone, I am limited. Alone, I am small. And alone, I am powerless to truly affect this world.

But thankfully I do not embark on this journey alone. I have many friends, family and even strangers, both here and abroad that stand with me. They have supported me with their taxes and money, they have assisted me with their donations and time, they have inspired me with their ideas, they have encouraged me with their actions, and they have strengthened me with their love.

I am a legacy of them all. I am a legacy of those who came before me to pave the way with their work, to lay the foundation for mine. I am a legacy of the support and encouragement from my friends and family, those closest to me that have shared with me in the journey of life, through good times and bad. I am a legacy of the great leaders of the past that have inspired me with their actions and the way they have chosen to live their remarkable lives. I am a legacy to the strength of the human spirit as witnessed to by the brave heroes of this world. I am a legacy of peace, for the boundless internal peace I have received in life I wish to share. And I am a legacy of love, from all those who share its miraculous gift with me freely.

We are all legacies of whatever light or dark we chose. We can perpetuate anger, pain, and hate as we have experienced it. We can hurt others and build upon the suffering of the world by adding our own suffering and that of the people we affect. Or we can summon up the indestructible spirits of the past, people like Gandhi, Peace Pilgrim, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, and countless others, and join with the courageous hearts of the present, and we can stand together as one. We can build upon what others have done and are currently doing to take the frontier of greatness further than it has ever been before. We can do more than we ever thought possible, more than we could ever do alone. Together, we can become a force more powerful than any one individual, a force with the potential to really make a difference in the world and in people’s lives. That is the legacy I chose carry on.

I thank those who have come before for their contribution, and their part in all of this, for everyone has their unique part to play. I stand here today with them, because of them, because of you… so thank you. Thank you for standing with me, enabling me to move beyond myself and my limitations as an individual. In tribute of my gratitude, I offer my life’s legacy, although still a work in progress, it’s a legacy that is shared with many, the legacy of love, for the future, for the now, for you and for all. I pass it on freely, as it was passed on to me, for all who would accept it and share in the infinite strength it provides. May it show you that when we stand united, for the sake of love’s purpose, that we can accomplish extraordinary things.