I had a lengthy discussion with today and at some points she kept asking why I do not have any passion for service in the military? I gave her a simple and straightforward answer:
I do not like waiting for orders before doing what I believe is right.
Yes, that's one of my most hated part of military life, - being called free but actually working as a slave. I left home when I was quite young. Rented my first apartment when I was about 15, so I'm used to doing things my way without waiting for mum or dad to issue out instructions on what's right or wrong.
Image source
Generally in life, people asked me what's my motivations for doing the things I do. Well, sad enough, I do not really have much motivations when I do things. I believe in knowing what is right to do and doing them well. No other motivation works well for me than just doing what has to be done.
Growing up as a kid, one of my best quote in life comes from the Bible in Proverbs 6 verse 6-8 which says
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
Have you ever taken the time to look at how the ants operate?
No fear of being punish, flogged, beaten.
No fear of prison, no waiting for commander. But they work hard doing what needs to be done. Because they know the consequences of not gathering food at the right time - starvation and most likely death
They don't need special training, they use their discretion to do what has to be done towards achieving the set goals. No one complains that he's working more than others. They do not have to wait for a constitution to perform what has to be done and they don't have to live by anyone rules.
I learned about this at an early stage in my life. Around 12 or 13 when I was working for the Red Cross as a YPE. I was in secondary school then, as part of the training they only told us what has to be done and the overall goals but we were allow to reach this goals on our own terms, working at our discretions.
Now the title of this post is from a book I read some years ago called The Richest Man In Babylon by George Clason. In it, I phrased out this question:
Do you possess the soul of a free man or are you just a slave walking free?
It's very sad to say this but as someone who has led many groups and people than my age should allow, I have come to learned that some people were created to be rulers others were created to be ruled. It's just so obvious. Many people totally refuse to think for themselves. It's not because they cannot think for themselves. No, they have sworn an oath never to think for themselves. So they just look for people to give them instructions on what to do and what to believe. That is why no matter how absurd a religious or political leader is, you will still have thousands ready to believe him/her.
Just as some people refused to think for themselves, others have sworn too to only act as commanded. Well, what did you expect from someone who relies on someone else thinking. And now when you have a group of people who always ask 'how should we do this? How should that be done' then you should know that your trouble is just beginning.
So this post is a question to all of us to look back into how we live our lives. Are we actually living out our lives? Doing what needs to be done? Doing what we believe is the right thing to do and doing it with the right way it should be done? Do we need others to think for us? I remember when we used to have meetings at my workplace and often times I asked people what should be done about a particular thing and I'll get the response
Whatever you guys decide, I'm okey with it.
Image 1, Image2
If you belong to this group, don't feel bad about it. You are not alone. But take some steps back, re-examine your life. Accept that something is wrong and then go back to that Bible quote and readjust your life.
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.