Month: August 2026

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”

This quote is by Kalu Ndukwe Kalu, an American political scientist and author. 

People I think most highly of are those who prioritize doing things for others.  Many of them from the past are people whose words I have quoted in other posts:  Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Helen Keller, Mahatma Gandhi, and Abraham Lincoln are some of those people.  And I believe each of them also thought highly of people who did things for others and were influenced by them.

The emphasis on doing things for others does not apply only to people who are well known, of course.  It applies to each of us.

Many of the parables of Jesus in the New Testament have to do with helping others, and many religious traditions in addition to Christianity emphasize doing so. When we give of ourselves by assisting others, spending time with people who are often alone, doing activities with our children and grandchildren, and in numerous other ways, we are adding to that which is of value in our world.  Being empathic and nonjudgmental are also ways of helping others.  And when we volunteer with and/or contribute financially to nonprofit organizations whose mission is to assist and support people who need their services, we also help many people.

A recent example of people helping others were the efforts made by a great many women and men in U.S. cities to assist immigrants who were being mistreated by ICE agents.  Many of the agents ignored the legal rights that both documented and undocumented immigrants have in our country.  The agents caused injury, fear, and trauma to individuals and their families, friends, employers, and many others.  People joined in protests, volunteered to be on school grounds to protect children, brought groceries and other necessities to people fearful of being targeted (which included men and women who were citizens), did pro bono legal work, and in many others ways did what they could—at great risk to themselves—to help to protect those being harmed by ICE agents.  And it made a difference in the lives of many.

Kalu refers to our legacy.  Our legacy is the lasting impact we leave behind when our earthly journey ends.  How wonderful when we spend part of our journey doing what we’re able to do to make other people’s lives better.

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”

This quote is by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was an American essayist, philosopher, minister, abolitionist, and poet who lived in the 1800s.

The emotion of anger is complex.  Some people get angry often, including for what most of us would consider overreactions to whatever they are angry about.  Many people have been hurt emotionally, psychologically, and/or physically by other people’s inability to control their words and actions when they are angry.  In my years working as a crisis line counselor, people called who were in relationships where there was domestic abuse.  Not only were the adults harmed but children in the household were also, whether directly or by seeing and hearing the abuse.  Another place where anger is commonly displayed is on the internet when some people spew out hateful and threatening words. These are examples of unhealthy anger.

There is also anger that we feel in response to unjust or mean treatment of others, sometimes referred to as righteous anger.  This is the type of anger that Jesus expressed when merchants were exploiting pilgrims in the temple rather than respecting it as the house of prayer, and also when the Pharisees prioritized following ritual rather than having concern about others, such as when they criticized Jesus for healing seriously ill people on the Sabbath.  Anger that is felt as a result of racial and other types of prejudice, innocent people being killed in unnecessary wars, and people being victims of crime are other forms of righteous anger.  Righteous anger is healthy anger.

Emerson’s words caught my attention because of the way they express what we lose when we’re angry—we lose time that can be spent in much better ways.  As he says, we lose time when instead we could be happy; I would add that when we’re angry we lose time when instead we could feel peaceful and caring.

I’m quite sure that Emerson would agree that anger is not an easy emotion to control for some people.  Often those people who take out their anger on others observed that behavior when they were children and it became a learned response.  Some studies show that there can be a genetic component for some people.  People who have difficulty controlling their anger are often helped by working with a counselor and/or attending group therapy or a support group.  Acknowledging that there is a problem and reaching out for help require courage, and thankfully those who learn to deal with their anger not only help themselves to have a higher quality of life but also help the people who care about them.

Healthy anger, on the other hand, has been the impetus for many causes whose purpose is to work toward educating others, providing support and resources for victims of anger, enacting laws, and in other ways helping people.  When the energy of concern-based anger is channeled in these positive ways, people’s lives are improved. 

Let’s remember Emerson’s words and do all we can to decrease unhealthy anger and increase happiness.

“You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you.”

This quote is by Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.  He served two terms as President and since then has continued to make a positive impact as a writer, speaker, philanthropist, and in other ways.

I have been re-reading Obama’s book A Promised Land, the first volume of which was published in 2020.  He writes about his early years through the first years of his presidency.  I respect Obama, for he is a man of integrity, intelligence, and concern for others, and has many other admirable qualities.  And, unlike many people, he is open to sharing what he considers to have been his failures.  In his book he writes about mistakes he made while campaigning for the presidency and as President.  So when he wrote the words I’ve quoted, he was speaking from his own experience.

Making mistakes and experiencing failure are part of being human.  When that happens, it can be difficult to go through.  And yet, fearing that we might make a mistake is very limiting.  If we hold back from trying to work toward personal goals or from supporting a cause we believe in or in other ways being constrained, we diminish our life experience.  As Obama says, we must not let failures define us but instead learn what those failures teach us and then move forward.  What we have learned will help us to take the next steps.

Each of us has the potential to add to that which is good and right in our world.  How we live each day can make a positive difference.  We must not let fear of making a mistake stop us from doing our part to add to what is of value in life, for ourselves as well as for others.