Chronicles Of Charles

No Man Is An Island

by Charles Joseph

I was sitting in my office chair flustered and weary. The daily grind was getting to me. There was something miss ing. In a moment of inspiration, I jotted down a short article and sent it to a local editor with the headline: “Would you consider publishing this?” To my absolute surprise, the editor re turned my email asking me to write something for the publication. I be gan to write for the first time in over ten years. A vibrancy flowed through me that I had been miss ing. Something shifted. I had a voice. It was a turning point in my life. I had found an outlet for my passions. A new be ginning. There is an old adage that says it takes a vil lage to raise a child. And sometimes, it takes a mentor to turn a life around. As I think back on the people that have influenced me through out my life, I cannot help but reflect upon the various outcomes of the paths I would have tak en without each of them. It reminds me of a book A Hand to Guide Me by Denzel Washington. In it he highlights dozens of famous athletes and suc cessful business people and how they would not be where they are with out those serendipitous meetings with influen tial people that changed their lives forever. On numerous occasions I have found myself be ing approached by oth- ers that desire only to help me. From a strang er lending me gas money when I forgot my wallet to the principal at my middle school. Jobs, friends, and a new outlook in many instances were often the result of people that chose to step into my life asking nothing in return. When I lived Colo rado, I went to a business presentation. I knew that the presenta tions from this particular speaker were very good and uplifting. As I watched the pre sentation, something began to stir in me. It had been years since I had felt this feeling. It was an energy that came upon me as if in a rush. As I continued to listen, it was as if time slowed down, and I heard him say something that sent me into a new dimen sion. He explained patiently that sometimes a person needs permis sion. Permission to feel good. Permission to let go. Permission to try again. Permission to dream again. No individual is an is land. People were meant to be in a community to gether. As we help each other along our chosen life paths, we benefit by helping them. Step ping into other’s lives and helping them build a foundation to a new life, or even taking them to a new level in their devel opment or career, creates an opportunity to reflect on our own lives as we pour into someone else the knowledge and wis dom that we gained over the years. By doing this, we solidify the lessons that we have learned. In a sense, it lends rele

vance and strength to the rare things that we ex perience along the way. Teaching others gives us the chance, the opportu nity, to build something

outside of ourselves, often building something larger than ourselves. After all, we all need a purpose greater than ourselves.