THE COUNCIL’S SEARCH FOR MEANING

“It’s exciting to see how fast your kids learn and grow. I’m not too worried about them, particularly the ones who like to break the rules and don’t follow instructions; those are the ones that will do just fine because they know what’s important to them.” Michael Dell

“To find your mission in life is to discover the intersection between your heart’s deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger.” Frederick Beekner

CAL-MOAA and its members, the EXCOM and affiliated chapter presidents, are currently caught up in a search for meaning.

The reward for the doing must be the doing. We can make a difference.

Maya Angelou, the first best-selling African-American author said, “If I see something I don’t like, I try to change it, and if I can’t change it, I change my position of looking at it, and then by seeing it from a different angle, I might be able to change it; or I might find some good in it that I can use, which might make it change itself.”

The Council has forty five (45) affiliated dues-paying chapters, with presidents and boards of directors signaling by their actions that they are interested, see value in the organization, and relate positively to the purposes as outlined in the bylaws. You’d think there would be a lot of passion for the cause.

At the same time, we look at the registrations for the upcoming Rally 2006 and as of 21 October we have thirty three (33) registrations, and that’s out of 45 chapters and a dozen and a half EXCOM members, apparently a clear indication of less than fully enthusiastic support for the Council and its work. Where’s the passion? Where’s the meaning?

Sure, everyone is busy. The typical MOAA member has multiple passions, interests and activities which carry real meaning, and often times the Council and its activities take a very low priority indeed.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

We do what we do because of our passion for making a difference. We think it’s important, particularly within the context of the War on Terrorism, to serve the military community. CDR John Sammons, USPHS (Ret) and Council Vice President demonstrated his passion when he arranged a spectacular homecoming celebration for a military intelligence battalion returning from deployment. That event had special meaning for John and his associates.

We do it because we like to do it, and of course because it’s important to do it.

Sometime ago a group of older employees were asked why they were still working and not retired; just asking them something like that is to dismiss their passion as trivial pursuits. It seemed an innocent question, but just asking it demonstrated that someone didn’t get it, didn’t understand.

If there is one thing we do consistently–one value we all share in common–is integrity to what matters to us. Each of us has to struggle in our own individual way to achieve a measurement of success.

So, EXCOM members and chapter presidents are now involved in a process of discovering what is meaningful to them and to the organization. Hopefully, some conclusions will come out of the discussions on the strategic plan and its merits.

Until we can determine what is meaningful to us, there can and will be no passion.

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