I recently experienced a bit of a low patch and made some grumpy decisions, one of which was, I didn’t want to go to work. That weekend, I shouted myself a coffee in a café in our village and set about gathering my thoughts. Between feeling sorry for myself and being angry, something my mother used to talk about came charging in through my thoughts. It is a saying you don’t hear much these days, understandable really because I imagine there would be a lot of nose-less people around. ‘Cut your nose off to spite your face’.
And as fate would have it, I turned to the horoscopes in the Herald and among other things, like telling me where certain planets were right then, mine suggested it would be to my advantage to be ‘less self-absorbed’.
So I ordered more coffee and a savoury muffin, stared into space and let my mind run… and what popped up first was the message I had received recently from a friend who is undergoing Chemo. “Getting better on the sicko side of things, gradually reducing the anti-nausea drugs which were scrambling my brain to say the least, but at least did their work. The actual chemo side of things was really uplifting I have to say. What an amazing bunch of women, most with husbands, chatting, laughing, sharing experiences, wigs and their hair regrowth, together with copious amounts of home-baking which circulated on the tea trolley many times – I’m going to relearn some baking – and all so very positive that my dread was immediately allayed. All very comfortable, and the copious amounts of mind-altering drugs certainly controlled what they needed to, even if I would have been a danger on the roads for a couple of days”.
I had rested my head on my hand and was wiping some darn moisture collecting in the corner of my eyes when I felt my nose. It was still there after an earlier attempt to cut it off to spite my face. How lucky I was to still have it.
So as self-absorption gave way to reflection, I came to the conclusion that not only am I lucky, but I have also enjoyed some great privileges. One of those is being a Judge of Franklin’s Finest. This is an annual event organised by our local district community newspaper, the Franklin County News. The community nominates people for a variety of awards such as Volunteer; Community Worker; Mentor/Leader and Junior Achiever. There are nine awards in all. We Judges, independently of each other, assess and rank nominations to determine who will receive the awards. I get to read many stories of self-less service and achievements often over great odds.
Another privilege is my involvement with the Royal Agricultural Society of NZ. Recently at the Royal Show in Hamilton I watched the Junior Judging finals. 10 young men and women ages 15 to 25 judge sheep fleece; sheep; dairy and beef cattle. There is a winner for each section and an overall winner who gets sponsored to compete in the finals with the Australians. These youngsters were clearly passionate about agriculture and were prepared to put their judgements on the line and explain their decisions confidently to the Exec Councillors of the RAS. They were simply inspiring and great positive examples of committed and driven youth. Also at conference earlier in the year we witnessed the finals of the Rural Young Achiever, and it was my privilege to make a presentation to the winner on behalf of the Franklin A & P Society, a major sponsor of the award.
A month or two back, I caught up with one of my brothers at the airport. He was on his way to the Islands to follow up on work after the Tsunami. He had been organising teams of tradesmen from Wanganui to help a small village rebuild. This initiative has continued on because the aid didn’t reach them. They all give of their time, resources and expertise for a week or so at a time and proudly boast that every cent they raise goes only and directly to the village.
And again recently I had the privilege to represent my employer at the First Foundation Scholarship Awards in Auckland. The first scholarships, three in fact, were awarded in Auckland in 1998. That night 28 from Auckland and 1 from Rotorua were awarded. I was there to present our scholarship to AJ. It was a humbling experience, firstly meeting AJ, her parents, her uncle and aunt. They were clearly very proud indeed.
Individual presentations were made to groups of 7 recipients. After each group, they stood behind a selected scholar who spoke about their journey and aspirations and thanked everyone on behalf of their peers. All were exceptional speakers and one young Maori man, clearly already an accomplished Maori orator told his story in a style which rivalled that of the guest speaker Eric Rush who provided an amusing but message filled interlude.
More recently, as Chairman of the Franklin Family Support Trust, I Chaired our AGM which also showcased entertainment by local young talent. These included a young singer who is a Franklin Finest finalist, a Hip Hop Dancer who has won against 300 other competitors in the USA and youngsters from a local primary school Kapa Haka group who did well representing Auckland in a national competition.
The staff of the Trust were acknowledged, all who give way more than what they are paid to do, as were volunteers who among other things have driven people to hospital and doctor appointments for many, many years. And I introduced the Trustees, from whom I learn a great deal. One of those has a QSM which acknowledges years of community service.
When I think of all those youngsters who had no special advantage (often disadvantaged); of all of those people who give so much of their time and skill voluntarily, and of the spirit and courage of the person undergoing cancer treatment I have nothing to feel sorry about. And should I be inclined to want to ‘cut my nose off to spite my face’ I don’t have far to look for motivation, inspiration, leadership, colleagueship and friendship.
I am indeed blessed and I hope, at this time when peace and goodwill should dominate our thinking, you too find blessings to count.
