“Honest, kind, modest, dignified and learned.” These are the descriptive words used on the HM Governor’s Office Facebook Page to describe Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs. It is rare when persons of all walks of life, social and political strata can wholeheartedly speak of an individual in glowing terms. Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs is one such person.
The sudden passing of Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, on Friday 4th September, 2020, shocked Anguillians and abruptly reminded us of the fleeting nature of life. Many persons recounted their interactions with him, in the days immediately before his passing. Most persons noted that they had no expectation that that encounter would be their last interaction with him. Would we have engaged differently had we known it was to be our last encounter with him? Would he have engaged differently if he knew that would have been his last encounter with us? While I would hesitate to hazard a guess as to how most persons would have behaved, I feel fairly safe in saying that it is unlikely that Rev. Gumbs would have engaged differently had he known that his earthly journey was drawing to a close. Rev. Gumbs was a spiritual leader who did not only ‘talk the talk’ – he also ‘walked the walk’ in his everyday engagements.
It is rather disconcerting that the very qualities we profess to greatly admire in Rev. Gumbs, many of us appear to have great difficulty reflecting in our daily lives. How many of us seek to be honest in our dealings with each other? Are we kind to our fellow man? Not the type of ‘kindness’ that is reflected in public recognition, but rather kindness that is unrecognised in the public domain but brings real and meaningful comfort to someone in need. Do we let our actions and our contributions communicate our worth, or do we reference our most mundane accomplishments at every opportunity? Sadly, many of us take the admonition not to hide our light under a bushel to mean that we must tout our talents and accomplishments to the world, rather than letting our deeds reflect our talents and accomplishments. In this respect, many of us are satisfied to list our many degrees and certifications without seeking to reflect our learning in our attitude and conduct. Despite our quick recognition of the dignified way Rev. Gumbs conducted himself, many of us are still quick to threaten to abuse and, in many instances, do abuse each other at the slightest provocation.
It is time that we stop merely admiring certain qualities in others – and instead seek to emulate such qualities. Many of us ‘talk the talk’ but fail to ‘walk the walk’. Let us, like Rev. Gumbs, let our positive words be matched by positive actions.
We often seem very oblivious to the fleeting nature of life as we engage in the social, financial and political concerns of the day. To paraphrase the words of Gramps Morgan, in our engagements – do we give a little more than we take? Do we try to fix more than we break? Do we try to be the change we claim we want to see? Sadly, while with words many of us may say yes to these questions, our actions say otherwise. Families are divided; societal values are rapidly deteriorating; deceit is regularly employed to secure financial success; and political differences are quickly being reflected in political tribalism. It is a fallacy to profess admiration for a man such as Rev. Gumbs while engaging in such destructive habits.
Life is but a fleeting thing – let us make our mark daily. Very often, our expectation that we will have tomorrow to revisit our lifestyles and make amends, is not realised. As we support Rev. Gumbs’ family and his church community, as they come to grips with his sudden passing, let us also pay Rev. Gumbs the greatest possible tribute by not merely expressing our admiration for his many excellent traits, but by visibly emulating such traits.
Let us, during our fleeting earthly journey, really be the change we claim we want to see.
