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Adventures in Service - 1976 Text Index
CHAPTER
I
Adventurers all
When I was being
officially welcomed into my Rotary club," said one Rotarian,
"the president made two points which have stayed with me: first,
that my fellow Rotarians had chosen me—not in the sense
of exclusiveness, but because they believed that I was the
person to represent my business in Rotary; and, second, that I
was beginning a new adventure in service—an adventure in
the strict definition of the word: 'a bold undertaking in which
certain hazards and unforeseen developments' were to be met.. ."
Is it an
adventure? Yes, the experience and testimony of thousands of
Rotarians say that it is—or can be.
If a new Rotarian
has been properly oriented and if his club is alive to its
obligations and opportunities, his membership is an adventure as
rich in discovery as a voyage to a new land. He already knows
the satisfaction of service, else he would not have been invited
to join the organization which holds "service above self" as a
prime goal, but new dimensions will be revealed as his
fellowship deepens—within
the community—and broadens—around the world —to include a
far-flung group of like-minded men.
Such an adventure,
as all adventures, poses certain hazards. But they come as a
challenge to the Rotarian—a challenge to be a part of the answer
to the problems of his community instead of part of the
problem—a challenge to make thoughtfulness of and helpfulness to
others a guide to more meaningful living.
Associating
oneself with a Rotary club and, through that club, with Rotary
International and its member clubs in nearly 150 countries and
geographical regions is in itself an act imposing some "hazards
and unforeseen developments." They arise from the nature of the
organization. Rotary is based upon the premise that there is a
broad field of agreement between men of different beliefs and
backgrounds. It is premised also upon the idea that action
toward a common goal fuses differences into strong service.
This is not to say
there are no differences of opinion within Rotary. There are
many; they are, in fact, one of the sources of strength. In
joining Rotary, the member accepts a method of doing things
which emphasizes the positive and which seeks ways to make
agreement effective and inclusive.
The backdrop
against which this characteristic is outlined has several parts.
One part is the classification principle, which makes the Rotary
club a cross section of the city's business and professional
life. Each Rotarian represents his occupation, not only in the
club but in the community at large. The resulting strength is
the strength of difference, as a rug gains durability and beauty
from the interweaving of many differing strands. It applies
individual strength to group strength to gain something that is
greater than the sum of its parts.
Another part is an
active program of club projects serving both the club and the
local community, the individual
and the group; and, in the final analysis, the family of mankind
itself. Nothing engenders agreement more than common work toward
a common goal; joint effort creates a working fellowship that
absorbs both minority and majority into unity.
A third follows
naturally: the fellowship that under-girds all of Rotary—not the
superficial, backslapping variety, but deeply sincere fellowship
arising from commitment to simple but significant goals, from
respect for each other", and from common effort.
But there is a
fourth part of this backdrop—the foundation stone upon which
the whole edifice is built. Modified somewhat through the
years—usually in the interests of greater clarity—its spirit has
not changed. It is the object of Rotary:
The object of
Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a
basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and
foster:
First. The
development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
Second. High
ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition
of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying
by each Rotarian of his occupation as an opportunity to serve
society;
Third. The
application of the ideal of service by every Rotarian to his
personal, business, and community life;
Fourth. The
advancement of international understanding, good will, and peace
through a world fellowship of business and professional men
united in the ideal of service.
The four parts of
this object have given rise to many things; in one way or
another they are behind everything a club or an individual does.
They are, in essence, the navigation chart, the sailing
directions for adventurers moving in the direction of new
horizons—new horizons holding the promise of a neighborly world
based upon the dignity and worth of every man.
Rotary is not an
exclusive organization, but its membership is still measured in
the thousands, and this fact boldly outlines the enormity of the
task of transmitting the ideals and goals inherent in the object
of Rotary to the places and people who need them most. Rotary
claims no monopoly on the origin of these ideals and aspires
least of all to their exclusive possession.
The object of
Rotary, however, does pose a challenge in a unique way—a
challenge so great that it inspired an eminent cleric to say: ".
. . Rotary is an idea, an idea of ingenuous magnitude and . . .
Paul Harris discovered, or, better still, re-discovered,
something humanity has disregarded : the value of disinterested
friendship as the most essential means of bringing together the
servants of God, for their better understanding in this human
life . . ."
Yes, Rotary itself
began with one idea—and one man— but by its dynamic nature it
has created thousands of ideas in thousands of men—men whose
lives probably would not have been attuned to the frequency of
creative service had it not been for the inspiration of
membership and fellowship in their Rotary clubs.
In the words of
one past president of Rotary International, "Rotary is, and
must be, above all, a 'forge of ideas' —a forge where new ideas
are born, wrought to be hammered into the shape of new,
generous, and useful creations." Every Rotary club, with its
powerful centripetal force, brings to its circle the most
capable and successful men—the most outstanding leaders from
each useful and dignified activity in each community and,
therefore, in the whole world. Logically, then, this group
should bring forth significant ideas from its fellowship and
discussion. It should always maintain the "forward look."
No one has ever
hinted that the object of Rotary prescribed an easy set of
goals. It ranges the gamut of human relations from one's outlook
upon his own vocation through the complexities of social
relationships to the most elusive goal of all—peace among men of
differing nations.
In his message to
Rotarians at the beginning of his term of office, one R. I.
president challenged Rotarians to "Enlist for Action—Extend for
Strength—Explore for Knowledge." These imperatives put the
matter succinctly; Rotarians are "enlisted"—they are
committed, or re-committed, to the object of Rotary each time
they pay their club dues; commitment to such ideals truly calls
for "extension," a calling forth of inner resources; all service
is based on knowledge, and the "exploration" for opportunities
to serve can never cease as long as a man is a Rotarian.
The adventurous
Rotarian—the person who responds to the ideal of service with
purposeful action—finds his reward, like the sailor who loves
the sea, in the journey itself. One Rotarian who had rendered
service far beyond the call of duty put it this way: "Trouble?
Could you call something trouble which gave new meaning
to your life? I would not think so."
Another Rotarian
translated the spirit of Rotary in dramatic and human terms with
a personal experience. He and his wife were helping to dedicate
a new wing in a children's hospital in
Mexico, the gift of the local
Rotary club.
We were standing
with our Rotary friends around the whirlpool bath, watching a
small girl with very black skin and badly twisted legs valiantly
trying to exercise. We of the audience represented a variety of
racial and national origins, European, Asiatic, American,
Latin. Standing there watching that child struggling to make her
tiny twisted limbs obey her, we saw a smile break out over her
face as the tiny drops of tears rolled over her dark cheeks. I
know that every heart in that room was beating with the heart of
that child, every muscle straining with hers and none of us made
an effort to conceal our own tears. In that fleeting moment, we
were as one . . .
Any Rotarian, no
matter where he lives, can find a setting and a vehicle for his
personal adventure in service.
He has only to put
away his self-satisfaction, his complacency, his lack of
self-confidence, his small faith in his fellow men—or whatever
it may be that holds him back— and "dare to face the present" of
his own community. The posture of Rotary is toward the future,
true; but the present is first. The now is basic.
Here is the place to begin. If all Rotarians, small
though they be in number, would launch out boldly where they
are, imagine what a difference it would make!
A past president
of R. I., addressing an international convention, made a
significant entry in the "logbook" for all adventurers in
service when he said:
Rotary is indeed at
work in the world, in a world which is too dangerous for
anything but truth and too small for anything but fellowship.
We are facing the latter years of the twentieth century. If we
are to help shape the future, let us renew our efforts to make
Rotary a living force in human relations, with each individual
member vigorously at work, each club something more than an
insignificant detail in a beautiful tapestry. There is yet time
and one may yet hope to make this neither the century of the
East nor the century of the West, nor the century of Capitalism,
nor the century of Communism, but the century of every man.
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