“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” ~ Anonymous.

My father always treasured the stories of the so-called ‘little people’ – the kind you never read about in the newspapers (back then, of course, before the explosion of social media).  As a minister he must have preached many sermons over the years, and as one of his children I must have heard a fair share of them.  But the only one I can remember, and even then many of the details are lost to me, was one that was broadcast over the radio.

At the time, in Jamaica, a church would be selected, and the entire service would be carried live to be heard all over the island.  As a country church (in Jamaica there is ‘country’ and ‘town’, where Kingston is ‘town’ and almost everywhere else is ‘country’) we were aware of the honor, and prepared well for it.  The choir (of which I was a part) rehearsed special numbers for the occasion. My father thought long and hard about the readings, the hymns, and of course, his sermon. 

I cannot remember where he took the text upon which he based his sermon, but I well remember the theme which was: “Who among these is great?”.  I wish I could remember all of his examples, but those are lost to history! Although he wrote down notes for his sermons, those which were saved were mostly on the backs of recycled papers (my mother recycled everything!) and in his backward leaning scribble (he had been forced to be right-handed as a child).  Thus making them quite hard to transcribe in any meaningful way.  In his sermon he spoke of the greats – such as Herod the Great, and then compared their lives to the lives of some of the people he had met in Chapelton.  There was a lady who lay dying in the local hospital, and she shocked her doctor by begging him to send her home.  This doctor was famous for his lack of a bedside manner, his gruff, sometimes profane pronouncements. ‘Are you mad, woman? Don’t you see you are dying?’ ‘Yes’, she replied, ‘but to take taxi go home is five shillings, and to carry dead body is ten pounds.  My family don’t have ten pounds.’  That, in my father’s telling, was what made her great.  To the end she was thinking of her family.

We live in a society of celebrities.  We could say that the reason why we have the leader we have today is because of his celebrityhood, a persona that is more hype than substance.  We become transfixed by images, by superficiality, addicted to ‘reality’ tv shows, somehow admiring the glitter and the glamour and missing the emptiness behind.  And yet there are still millions of people around the world doing acts of kindness, acts of greatness every day.

This week I watched the livestreamed ‘celebration of life’ for a true hero, a woman who impacted so many lives that she deserved a title like Herod the Great.  One of the people who gave a tribute opened his speech with these words: “Some people leave behind memories. Others leave behind monuments. Jean left behind better people.” She was a teacher, a high school Department Head, but most of all she was a person who was thoughtful and kind.  In reading the many tributes on Facebook, it was obvious that she had touched many lives, and left a lasting impact on them.  One of her actions was to leave written messages for those she worked with, for her students, for anyone in her environment that she thought needed an uplifting word, a reminder that they were seen.  This was referred to as her ‘thought ministry’.  Students recalled the words of encouragement they would receive, co-workers who were new on the job recounted moments when they were at their lowest, and a little note, a verse, a quote, a scripture, would make them smile, would help them through.

She also, it is clear, saw potential.  There were many who wrote of being a young student entering sixth grade, lacking confidence, unsure if they were up to the challenges of the new and foreboding school, sure they would get lost in the crowd of this huge student body, and Mrs. Plowright had seen them, seen their potential and told them of the greatness they would accomplish.  A great teacher indeed.

One story told in the service, spoke to the ‘colorism’ that exists in Jamaica.  Most post-colonial countries were left with a pecking order, a hierarchy that rewarded the ‘light-skinned’ (aka ‘high color’) Jamaicans, mostly descended from the European ‘masters’ with maybe a touch of evidence of Mother Africa.  In the old days they were known as the ‘Wee droppers’ – they would admit to just a ‘wee drop’ of African blood! It took a greater awareness of the true contribution of the African Continent to civilization, for so-called radicals in the sixties who introduced a greater understanding of the inequities and injustices perpetrated upon the colonies, and for the rise of ‘Black Power’ in the US, for things to begin to change in Jamaica.  Unfortunately, the stigma of having a darker complexion lingered longer in communities.  The young lady that gave one of the tributes, having been teased as a child for her darker complexion, told that it was Mrs. Plowright who told her she was beautiful, like a flower, and helped her to see herself differently.

How great is that?  I do believe, having known the lady for whom the tributes were written, that she would have been quietly pleased but mostly overwhelmed to hear of the impact she had.  Her ‘thought ministry’ was just something she did to help others along the way.  She may not have listed any of these attributes on her resume, may not have seen how huge, how far the ripples would have spread from what she considered to be simple acts of kindness.  But how many seeds did she plant along the way?  Although she and her husband had no biological children, there were many who considered her their mother, many who believed they (alone) were her ‘special sons’. 

I believe that if my father were to rewrite his famous sermon today, Jean, aka Mrs. Plowright, would have been one of his examples.  And perhaps I should be doing it for him.  For if I had to choose between her and a reality-TV star, I know who I would choose.  But her life is a good reminder that we don’t need to have great titles, or great accomplishments to be ‘great’.  How we treat each other, how we support those who most need our help, how we demonstrate our connection to other human beings can be our legacy.  As another common quote says: ‘In a world where you can be anything, be kind’.

This Friday morning I hope you can see your own potential and live it.  I hope you can look for the good in others, and celebrate their accomplishments.  And even if your acts are never publicly acknowledged, know that their impact may continue long after you have breathed your last. 

Have a great weekend, Family!

One Love!

Namaste.