Anyway, this one is titled "Contribution".
As always , we are expected to examine our lives and be reminded of the times we have contributed to our family, our friends and to Society. Have we helped in our family in any way, have we done good turns for our friends, have we done a kindness for strangers? These are are strategies used to "pull us up" from the malaise we are feeling, and remind us of the good we do every day for our fellow man.
Unfortunately, for those of us with a higher intellect, those who are more self-aware, we can see through these platitudes and recognise them for the easy escape that they are. I choose to take a harder route.
Have I contributed? Why, Yes, I have.
In school I was the renegade. I was given an inch and proceeded to take the mile. I argued with teachers, with Principals, and with rules. I was not a rebel, but a questioner, a mirror to the standards that were taught. I won both friends and enemies, neither of which gave me any advantage in my schooling.
At work I have always looked for better ways, and my cynicism has marked me both as a trouble maker, and as a source of opinion. Often this has led to improvements for those who came later, but rarely for myself.
In my family, I have contributed in many ways. In childhood, I was a source of concern. My propensity for trying to kill myself through accident, and my position as the more than usually inept Middle Child had both Parents and Older Siblings alternately hovering over or berating me as I grew up. The feeling of never being quite good enough has never left me.
Then I discovered a talent for comedy. This was my contribution. I left a trail of one-liners, sarcasm, and notable quotes behind me wherever I went. This was my passport to forgiveness. As long as I was funny, or at least witty, my physical and social ineptitudes could be overlooked. I became the family clown.
Have I contributed? Yes I have. I have provided entertainment and challenges for so many in my life.
Have I contributed constructively? I don't know. I cannot judge. That is for others to decide.
