he Gender Perspective, formerly known as the Gender Corner, is a bi-weekly column of Gender Affairs Anguilla in the Ministry of Social Development. The goal of the Gender Perspective is to provoke positive thinking about using our individual roles to foster gender equality and total wellness in the state of the social, economic, political and cultural life of Anguilla. Topics will vary – including reflections on current events and the lived experiences and voices from all over Anguilla. Today’s article will explore our current world environment from the perspective of seasons, service and sacrifice.
A mentor of mine recently said that “beginnings and endings are inevitable.” One season will end and another one will begin. Seasons of change will occur around us and each of us will experience beginnings and endings in our families, our relationships, our experiences and so on. These great seasons and changes are cyclical and the only stable point is change. So what is the silver lining? The jewel is in the fact that change is inevitable but the ability to shift is calculable. There is a constant work that keeps vision moving even when it may feel like we are at a standstill.
Case in point: the COVID-19 pandemic arguably took the world by surprise. In Anguilla, one moment we were experiencing one of the best tourist seasons yet, and almost suddenly, the flow stopped and a near standstill occurred. Physically, mentally, financially and emotionally, many of us were, and are, at a standstill. If you did not feel pressure before, you probably feeling it in one way or another. Interruptions in employment, schooling, opportunities, family life, personal space, freedom of movement, time and energy were shared experiences across the globe, but still a very personal journey.
As we continue to adjust to the re-ordering, we can ask the deep questions of what is most important in our lives, what do we care about most for our families and communities and what is our vision for the future of our nation? During moments of trial and uneasiness, our hearts must be pulled in the direction of service. How can we serve men, women, boys and girls alike in the spaces where we are most in need? Will it be in ensuring the mental wellness of yourself and your loved ones? Will it be in providing a basket of goods? Or possibly in offering an encouraging word to a co-worker, friend or stranger?
When we serve these needs, we are serving the needs of a nation. It is our collective health that is wealth for self. The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I have always been told that if you are among the living, there is work for you to do – both service and leadership. For those who take up the charge of being moulded into servant leaders, let us all remember that servant leadership is a massive task requiring a handful of ingenuity and a barrel full of sacrifice.
In Anguilla, our island recently contemplated the abilities of a leader and hopefully the heart of a leader during election season. Roughly 85 countries around the globe have similar leadership decisions to make during this unprecedented year of threats to health and safety. The sacrifices that leaders, in particular, will have to make to usher in the promises of a stable and thriving nation should not be overlooked.
Sacrifice can come in many forms, including being willing to give of yourself for your brother and sister. Even more sacrificial is to give of yourself for a stranger. And the most sacrificial is to give of yourself for those who talk badly about you and actively seek to do you harm. Are these the people that we serve? Is this the true task of a servant leader from the top of our political system – to the mother or father in a household?
It is time to provide for not just one, but for all. It is my goal to be of service in the capacity that I am chosen to lead. Not my will, but thy will be done is our call. The sacrifice of love is to give of yourself, to be appointed and to go and bear fruit that will last. We should each be advocates of truth especially in this season of sacrificial service. Let us not divorce service from sacrifice. Let us see that new seasons call for service. Let us remember that true service is a sacrifice and it is not self-seeking. Sacrificial service is grace. It is giving each and every one of us what we do not naturally deserve. Instead, it is giving us what we need in order to be made whole – or at least to return toward a path of wholeness in a time of fear, threats, sickness and death. Let them know your heart so that your service may be pure.
If you would like to contribute to the Gender Perspective, please contact Dr. Ronya Foy Connor at Ronya.Foy-Connor@gov.ai or 497-3930.
