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Return to Rev. Frank Hall's Sermons index. The Good Life While membership in the Unitarian Church in Westport will not guarantee a special place in heaven, it certainly will guarantee a lively discussion about the concept of heaven, and that conversation will inevitably involve naming characteristics of what it means to be a good person – what it means to live a good life. The most well-known earthly prizes for living a good life, or at least of making a contribution to life on the planet, is named for its founder, Alfred Bernhard Nobel who was born in 1833 – he was a chemist, engineer, innovator, and the armaments manufacturer who invented dynamite. He owned a major armaments factory which had started out as an iron and steel mill owned by his family. Alfred Nobel held 355 different patents, dynamite being the most famous and the one that made him an enormous fortune. The story behind the establishment of the Nobel prizes tells us that one morning, back in 1888 when he was 55 years old, he was reading the morning paper when he was shocked to find and read his own obituary. The story in the paper painted him as the ‘dynamite king’ who had invented explosives and manufactured armaments. The paper had made a mistake, of course -- it was Nobel’s brother who had died. What horrified Alfred Nobel was the way he was depicted – the picture of the person in the obituary, the legacy he would leave, what he’d be remembered for. That’s the precise moment he decided to dedicate the lion’s share of his fortune from dynamite to creating five annual prizes for those who’d made outstanding contributions in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. The story behind the establishment of the Nobel Prize for Peace is one of the most ironic tales – his fortune came from the invention that killed his younger brother, Emil, at the family’s factory when they were still working to develop dynamite that could be more user-friendly. It’s a great irony, of course. His invention is used today by suicide bombers; his inventions refined weapons of mass destruction, while Alfred Nobel is most remembered for the peace prize in his name. Most of us don’t have the financial resources to establish a foundation that would encourage work that advances the causes we believe in. Most of us have to settle for a simple legacy that will be noticed only by those closest to us – our relatively small circle of family and friends – the influence we’ve had on them. While we can’t set up a foundation like Nobel’s, we can do something as basic and easy as writing an ethical will, a letter, a memoir or poem perhaps, to our children, grandchildren and yet-to-be born great grandchildren. William Ernest Henly, a contemporary of Alfred Nobel, gives us an example of an ethical will penned as a poem he wrote from his hospital bed in 1875 when he was just 26 years old, not knowing he would live another 26 years. He had been struggling with poor health since the age of 12 when he contracted TB of the bone, had his left leg amputated below the knee and suffered from the effects of the disease for the rest of his life. His poem is titled Invictus, which is Latin for ‘unconquerable.’ The poem’s title and theme is used as an appropriate name for the story of Nelson Mandela in the movie featuring Morgan Freeman as Mandela – a most amazing life and legacy. Henley’s poem is best remembered for its closing line: “I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul.” Henley wrote: Out
of the night that covers me, In the fell clutch of
circumstance Beyond this place of
wrath and tears It matters not how
strait the gate, I am the master of my
fate: Recently I became aware of another foundation established by a very wealth man, Philip Anschutz who became a billionaire at age 42 – he holds the record for the youngest billionaire. Thinking, perhaps, about what his own obituary would say, as Nobel did, might have been uncomfortable. Fortune once called him America's "greediest executive," for dumping $1.57 million in stock of another company he founded, Qwest Communication, just before its share price collapsed — and after urging other stockholders to hold on to their shares. The Securities and Exchange Commission agreed with Fortune’s estimation of Anschutz, and ordered him to pay $4.4 million in penalties. Anschutz is a big supporter of groups that have worked, and are working, to deny human rights and dignity to gays and lesbians, among other right-wing causes. Yet, he is the sole source of funds for The Foundation for a Better Life. They do not accept private donations. About themselves they say “In this day and age, it can be hard to believe an organization's only goal is to encourage others to do good—but that really is why we exist.” The foundation made a list of 50 words that describe aspects of ‘the good life.’ The lists includes things like peace, strength, character, courage, compassion, hard work, optimism, stewardship, rising above (your circumstances) hope, soul, preparation – as in the Boy Scout motto: be prepared. They are in the process of naming individuals who most epitomize each of these characteristics and putting their faces and the characteristic that epitomizes their life on huge billboards, like the one in Times Square. For example, for peace they have named: Peace, Desmond Tutu Strength, Christopher Reeve Character, Jackie Robinson Courage, Mohamed Ali Compassion, Mother Teresa Hard Work, Whoopie Goldberg (overcame dyslexia) Optimism, Michael J. Fox Stewardship, Jane Goodall Rising Above, Bethany Hamilton (surfing after losing arm) Hope, Dali Lama Soul, Gandhi Preparation, Captain Chesly Sullenberger The Outdoor Advertising Association of America and the Foundation for a Better Life teamed up to communicate these values; launched in Times Square in 2001…donated space… also posters in schools… In addition to the above list, words that describe aspects of ‘the good life,’ include: (in alphabetic order) caring, commitment, confidence, courtesy, encouragement, forgiveness, friendship, generosity, gratitude, honesty, humility, inspiration, integrity, listening, love, loyalty, patience, perseverance, respect, responsibility, sacrifice, team work, trusty, unity and vision. They have identified people that exemplify some of these characteristics. They include: Einstein, confidence George Washington, leadership Ben Franklin, ingenuity Abraham Lincoln, persistence Winston Churchill, commitment I like the concept. I’m moved by the posters with pictures of inspiring men and women who have helped move us along the evolutionary path toward a better life, ‘the good life.’ They might have a billboard for Alfred Nobel, though his face is not generally recognizable. They won’t have one for Alice Graves, whose life we celebrated recently, but if we were to do our own in-house posters, matching persons with our highest values, we would have a poster with a picture of Alice and the banner she brought back from the March on Washington in August of 1963 when MLK, Jr delivered his ‘I have a dream’ speech; it would include a picture of some of the buttons she wore at dozens and dozens of other marches for peace and justice. “Feed the cities, not the Pentagon;” “The hole in the wall gang;” “Children, our investment in the future;” There’s a button that reads: ‘It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the air force has tohold a bake sale to buy a bomber.’ “National Grape Boycott, 1989;” “Promise the Children;” “Stop Apartheid;” “Poor People’s Campaign, 1968;” and a button for Mel King, who helped to integrate the Boston Public School in the 60’s: “I Have a Dream Too.” She kept her green button with a picture of our church that says, “I pledged.” Alice pledged more than money -- she lived the values we hold dear, summarized by the prophet, Micah when he said, “What is required of thee but to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Most of us won’t be able to establish a foundation, as Alfred Nobel was able to do, and as Philip Anschutz did with the Foundation for a Better Life. We may never write a poem as William Henley did with Invictus, but each of us leaves some kind of legacy with our influence on family, friends, and by extension on the community and the world. Out
of the night that covers me, In the fell clutch of
circumstance Beyond this place of
wrath and tears It matters not how
strait the gate, I am the master of my
fate: Return to Rev. Frank Hall's Sermons index. |
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