Your Life is Your Message by Blair Nancy Stanford; Gesner Mark L.;

Author:Blair, Nancy Stanford; Gesner, Mark L.; [Gesner, Nancy Stanford Blair and Mark L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2019-09-03T16:00:00+00:00

THE WHY

Our ‘why’, put simply, is our reason for existence. Unfortunately, some of us never completely find it, while others seem to be laser focused on their essential purpose. The clearer we become about our purpose and how it aligns with our values, the more focused our avocation or vocation in life will become. In the late teen years and early adulthood, the search usually begins in earnest and is often a roller coaster of trial and error, emotional upheaval and sometimes life-changing experiences.

Our round table continues…

Young Mohandas: I’m humbled to be in your presence in this discussion. It seems we have all lived a lifelong experiment in becoming all that we could become. To be honest, from my shyness as a child in school I became a pretty mediocre student, not particularly motivated by the standard curriculum. Even though I wanted to become a doctor, it was inevitable that I would become a lawyer, but that certainly didn’t seem like my life’s purpose. While I was in London studying law, I learned the most by reading all the books of the great world religions. It wasn’t until I passed the bar and couldn’t find a job that South Africa called. Little did I know that the treatment I received and observed as an Indian living in Apartheid-ruled Durban would quickly propel me to discover what I was meant to do with my life.

The firm belief I had in mutual tolerance and non-injury to human beings ran right up against what I witnessed every day towards Indians, Colored and Black Africans. Where we could sit, eat, relieve ourselves, shop, work, live—all corners of life—were restricted according to some artificial distinction of better and worse. The level of debasement to human health and welfare was neither conscionable nor tolerable. After being thrown out of a courtroom in Durban for refusing to remove my turban, my most pivotal moment was on a train ride to Pretoria. I was asked to give up my seat, even though I was ticketed, and when I refused they threw me off the train at the next stop. It was then that I saw my future to fight the ‘deep disease of colour prejudice’. I vowed that night to ‘try, if possible, to root out the disease and suffer hardships in the process’.

Young Martin: I too am humbled to be in the presence of this auspicious group and am really enjoying your stories. I, like you Mohandas, was not very inspired by my studies in high school or college. While I excelled and even skipped grades, I wasn’t particularly motivated. I even fought against my father’s conservative views and his desire for me to enter the seminary. I rebelled a bit with my choices of women to date and even partook in beer drinking. But I, also like you, eventually relented and fulfilled his wishes. It wasn’t until the last year of seminary that I finally understood what ministry and religion had to do with me and the role I could play.

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