Wrong Goal, Wrong Perspective

 

            Julius and his mother visited the library every Tuesday afternoon after he finished his day of homeschooling. His mother and father instilled in him a love for learning, for reading, and for setting his standard for life higher than anyone else he knew. In the fall following his fifth birthday, he would spend four hours a day learning the basics of a foundational education until he reached his fourteenth year when he learned that none of his friends or neighbors stayed home for school, prompting him to ask permission to attend high school with his friends.

              After receiving permission from his parents, he also received a warning from them that he would find the public school system less than challenging, boring, and years behind his current academic state of mind. Julius waited at his front door on the first day of school, knowing that his friend Alexander would be arriving in mere moments to save him from needing to ride the bus.

              The two boys drove into the parking lot, retrieved their backpacks from the back seat and blended into the stream of students to receive their locker numbers, their class schedules, and instructions to join an all-school assembly in the auditorium. Julius and Alexander floated through the hallways in search of their lockers, deposited their bags therein and followed the stream of all others into the auditorium to find their seats in a sea of fellow students.

              The assembly ended and Julius shifted from class to class, from week to week, from month to month, and eventually began voicing his disappointment to his parents about the simplistic drivel from his teachers, from the mindless, thoughtless, and seemingly pointless dialog from his fellow students. “All of the guys seem only interested in finding a girlfriend, learning just enough to pass each class, and what work they’re going to do in the coming summer,” he complained.

              “It seems we didn’t prepare you deeply enough for the pathetic, frustrating, and mindless social interaction into which you have immersed yourself,” his father said. “I am going to guess that everything the teachers are hoping to communicate with you are subjects you already fully understand. Give the impression of making an effort to learn, ask questions, and answer when asked questions in class but be careful not to come across as a know it all.”

              “Yes, father, I figured that out after the first couple weeks of school,” he said. “I know you warned me about this, so I play along with the lessons that are delivered, none of them being a challenge of any sort. I intentionally answer one or two questions incorrectly on some of the quizzes and tests.”

              “Be careful with following that path,” his mother said. “Your grades will be surveyed and critiqued by the school and by universities that will be interested in having you attend their institutions.”

              “There has been a great deal of talk about attending university,” he said. “I have an assignment due at the end of this month which requires me to choose a vocational path and name a few universities that I find most appealing and interesting. So, I need to put that together sooner than later. We are supposed to share our thoughts and plans with the entire class, so it will be interesting to hear what the other students have created. I’ll share their findings once we all complete our presentations.”

              The end of the month was finally reached, Julius returned home from school, joined his parents for dinner and dove into a lengthy diatribe about what he heard from his fellow students. “Honestly, it was really depressing listening to them try to describe their plans, their hopes, and their life goals. From the other boys, the stories were all the same. They were aiming for high paying jobs, large comfortable homes, fancy cars, elegant clothing, and attention from co-workers and neighbors.”

              “Tell me about your thoughts on all of that,” his father said.

              “I’ll describe the stories that were shared by the girls in the class first,” Julius said. “Just like the boys they all said basically the same thing. They wanted a handsome, successful, and wealthy husband who would provide for all of their wants and needs. A few of them said they wanted to have one or two children, live in comfort, and annually travel around the world.”

              “Having children is a good thing,” his mother said. “As long as they raise them to be honest, hardworking, and respectful people. That is the sad reality of most people, to live in comfort, to buy things one doesn’t really need, and go on vacation as a distraction.”

              “So, here are my thoughts,” he said. “I shared my dreams and plans and heard more than a few people laugh behind their hands and roll their eyes. I shared that my plans were to live comfortably without focusing on being wealthy, without being distracted, and providing help and support for those in need. After hearing so many plans and dreams about being obscenely wealthy and living in comfort, my heart somewhat melted at the idea of someone being so selfish that they could only think of themselves.”

              “Many of them showed images of the homes, the cars, and the clothing they longed to have,” he continued. “I had to fight very hard not to question them on their life choices, on how being selfish is never a good thing, and why they only focused on their own comfort rather than being generous. Alexander and I had a lengthy conversation on all of this throughout the rest of the day and on the drive home. I’m sad to say that he is no different than the rest of the students.”

              “I am very proud of you, son,” his father said. “You are the only one thinking rightly about money, about possessions, and about caring for others. I’m excited to see the path you eventually choose once you graduate.”

              Julius’ fourth year of high school came to its completion, and he made no plans for attending university, convinced that another four years of school would be identical to the last four years he barely managed to endure. Over the three months following graduation, he eventually found a job that was truly helpful and beneficial to others and paid a reasonable wage, which allowed him to move into his own apartment and begin interacting with his neighbors.

              After three months of work, he managed to organize his finances in a way that covered his needs and left enough of a cushion to help others. When he received each paycheck, he deposited ten percent of it into a savings account with plans to travel to another country that did not know the comforts and pleasures of the western world. He worked for a total of five years to eventually save enough to accomplish his greatly desired travel plans.

              He informed his parents of his plans, turned in his resignation, joined a philanthropic organization, bought a plane ticket and traveled to eastern Europe to volunteer his time in helping orphans, widows, homeless people, and those in dire need. After six months in the darkest inner city of a very poor society, he put in every effort to make the lives of those he met better than his own. He took nothing extra for himself, he lived on only what was necessary and often thought about his classmates in high school and if any of them had achieved their goals of wealth and comfort.

              As he reached his fortieth birthday, he read through his notes documenting the transition his new culture had taken since his arrival. He reminisced about the many children he fed, clothed, and found homes for across the nation. The idea of passing on this responsibility to others in his new community at the right time when he would return home to visit his parents, interact with his former friends, and see how life had progressed in the United States during his absence.

              Julius spent the next nine months speaking with those he deemed responsible enough and mature enough to take over his role as helper for the many in need. He eventually decided on three young men, encouraging them to divide the city into three parts, each one taking a portion as their responsibility. He watched and waited for three months as they stepped into their new roles and found himself very pleased with the progress these young men were making.

              When the three months had passed, he met with the young men, informed them of his decision to return to his home country and for them to continue doing what they had been doing since he retired from his work. “I want to also encourage you to continue this work until you begin to feel old and then find others to take over your responsibilities. This is a work that must never stop, for there will always be those who have needs.”

              Kristof, Sergei, and Mladen all agreed to follow his instruction, to continue their work and to find others to take over for them once they reached the limit of their abilities. “Speaking for all of us,” Mladen interjected, “we promise to keep this work going and to pass on your message to those who follow after us. This is a good and beautiful work that must never stop and perpetually continue. Thank you for starting this work so many years ago and for choosing us to continue this path.”

              It was with a heavy heart that Julius sold or gave away most of his possessions before taking advantage of a ride to the airport to return home. He assured himself that handing over his work to the three responsible young men was the right thing to do. “I cannot do everything myself,” he told himself. “I have been gone for so long and have accomplished many great things in my time away. The neighborhoods surrounding my former home are now in a much better place.”