The first element of a Community of Excellence is Security - the belief, feeling, and understanding that we are all in this together governing our actions. What contribution to the wealths we leave behind can be derived from Security.
We are all in this together. Even though tradition dictates choosing a select few for the bequeathing of our wealths, the more people we select the greater the diameter of the cycles we create can become. I have one story from my past that is hopping and jumping in my mind, eager to be shared, even though I have mentioned it before.
My grandfather was born in Ireland in 1880 and orphaned not long after that. His fate rested in the control of his mother's father who had disowned his daughter for marrying a Englishman. The older boys had joined the army. My father's aunt was placed in a convent by that unforgiving grandfather. But the grandson was given to an aunt with instructions to place him in an orphanage.
She didn't.
She defied her father and raised her nephew secretly until he was old enough to emigrate to the USA. If she hadn't acted as she had, thousands of lives would be different. Including yours. This blog entry would not be on your screen right now.
Economically what she left her nephew was little beyond opportunity. But that is so minor to the greater results. She left him the knowledge that injustice is far more wrong than disobeying authority. She left him a passion for doing right. A passion for letting one's heart have its say when making decisions. If it feels right, it is right. And she left him a belief that life must allow for forgiveness. We are all the better for every instance of community members doing the right thing even if it is as remote an action as taking place three thousand miles from here and 125 odd years ago.
If Marcus Aurelius' Meditations have taught me (and I hope you) anything at all it's that the questions are the same throughout time. We are confronted with the same moral questions he was. We have to rely on the same human traits as he did. The topics are different, but we have a legacy of wealths: Knowledge, passion, spirituality; bequeathed to us by thousands and thousands of benefactors to help us navigate our way through our tests.
Who could have guessed that our community cycles can span distance, culture, language, religion, and even time. We just need to remember that we are all members of Communities of Excellence.
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