A MATTER OF PRESPECTIVE
How many of you are grandparents?
When you look in the mirror each morning, what do you see?
Do you see lines and wrinkles on what used to be a smooth face?
Do you see a thickening middle where there used to be a waist?
Do you see graying hair where there used to be color? And For some of us: Do you see the absence of hair where there used to be curls?
Do you see slowing limbs where there used to be ones that moved with speed?
Do you see with dimming eyes instead of those that once focused like an eagles’?
Do you see hair growing in unusual places?
And do you see ears that look a lot bigger than they used to be and no longer hear like a hawk’s?
Now let’s look in the same mirror with the eyes of a grandchild or a little kid and tell me -what do you see?
When they look up at you: They see a caring look in each of those lines in your face.
They see a comfortable soft place to sit in those rolls around your waist.
They see wisdom in that graying or bald head.
They see people who walk their speed and hold their hands with those slowing limbs.
They see people who make their bo-bos better by looking at every bump and bruise with those eyes with the special glasses.
They see someone that always has the time to listen with those not so great ears.
In short what they see and what you see are too different things. This biggest difference is we look at the external and little kids look at what you do.
So this year I ask you to look at North Port Arthur Rotary with the eyes of a kid.
We don’t have to trek across Borneo to raise money for polio. But we do have to give. We don’t have to travel across the world to bring books to a kid. But we will go to the neighboring elementary school and help teach them to read. We don’t have to dig water wells, but we will provide someone who does with some seed money. And we don’t have to feed those in Africa, we just have to help the local feed the people in our communities. This year we will ring the bell, and collect coats for the Salvation Army. We will help our fellow Rotarian Tom, with his love for recycling. I don’t know what we will recycle, but we will recycle something. We will help with the local trash off and pick up trash. And don’t worry you won’t need to stoop, because we will use the tools that have a grabber on the end of the pole. We will Support our friend Janet provide grants to local teachers. We will help Rotarian Don, help troubled young men. And we will recycle old greeting cards for Kenny to use on his meal trays. We will help Rotarians serve. And along the way Stuart and Tammy are going to tell us about flavored salts, Barry and Rita will teach us more about art and Jim Snell will enlighten us with his version of the news. And when this year ends we will have worked to make our communities what we want them to be.
We will look at our club through a child’s eyes. And we will see a group with wisdom and know how. And a group that cares and has the time to make things better. Folks what we will see are Rotarians.
Let me finish with this story. There were 2 hunters in the jungle that heard a terrible commotion. When they investigated, they saw a man wrestling with a mountain lion. One hunter said: My God what do we do? The other said, the
Lion got himself into this mess, let him get himself out of it. One hunter saw the roaring lion and the other hunter noticed was that the man had a Rotarian pin on his lapel. Being President was not on my bucket list. But I was sucked to the top in typical Rotarian fashion. And when faced with a challenge- I will lead. We will help our fellow Rotarians serve and we will do as 1.2 million other Rotarians are doing. We will serve and we will work to make our communities and the world a better place. Because I am a Rotarian and with us - it’s just a matter of perspective. |
