A Salute to Struggle

There is a newspaper salesman that frequents an intersection I pass through in the mornings. This morning, after having picked up some brunch from Pick n Pay, I saw him asking for a lift so I picked him up.

On the drive we got to chatting about this and that. He started telling me about his life. He told me how his family passed away in a car accident and left him and his young brother to fend for themselves. He is now twenty six years old and is devoted to looking after his young brother who is 10 and attending grade 4. He told me how disappointed he was that his newspapers did not come today because he wont be able to buy food for his younger brother. He asked if I knew of any employment opportunities and jokingly said he wouldn’t mind scrubbing a cow’s rear end if he must, whatever is available he will gratefully take it.

I was very impressed by the fact that he didn’t ask for a single cent from me. I was struck by the conviction that he wasn’t telling me his story to get something out of me. I got the feeling he was only giving me an insight into his world, which is dominated by this struggle to look after himself and his brother. He was proud of his struggles. It was almost like he was telling me “look what I am managing to deal with”. I saw in him a realization of his own strength in dealing with what life has handed to him.

I am convinced that he is absolutely right to be proud of his struggles. There is no virtue in having been born wealthy and having parents who provide for your every need. Indeed this is something to be grateful for but it does not make one any more with regards to anything that matters. The fact that I drive a nice car and have exciting opportunities in front of me says nothing about my value and quality as a human being. The fact that he has nothing is nothing to be ashamed of, the fact that he is dutifully committed to looking after himself and his younger brother is an immense reason to be proud.

I would like to tell him that I respect his capacity to deal with immense struggle and shoulder his burdens dutifully. We cannot control what life hands us but we can sure as bob control how we deal with it. Virtue and personal excellence does not sit in what we have been given, it sits in our commitment to giving. I saw immense virtue in this young man which humbles me. He is dutifully striving to uplift himself and his younger brother. He is grateful for whatever assistance he is given and there is nothing above him, not even scrubbing a cow’s rear end.

He provides an excellent instance of an important lesson. If we think that having nice things makes us more we are fundamentally mistaken. I am no more than the young man who has nothing but his commitment to helping his younger brother. In fact I was completely impressed by his strength and virtue and caught myself wishing I could see that strength in myself. What matters with human excellence is not what we have, it is how we react. He has virtue because he is not broken by his immense struggles. He has virtue because he is dealing with catastrophe virtuously.