So first, here is a bit of background on the happenstance that enabled me to enjoy such a last-minute journey.
A family friend who is the Dean of the business school at Trine University in Angola (who had planned a marketing consulting trip with a few students to advise a local entrepreneur on marketing strategies for entering the US with his product) had one student drop out last minute. He knew that I am interested in consulting as a career path, so he asked me to accompany the group last-minute. Ironically, I got the call about the trip as I was about 5 minutes away from making a different consulting presentation for a final at school- so when I got the call, I had about a week and a half to figure out how to get a passport in time to head off to Scotland.
After a quick weekend trip with my roommate and a long, ridiculous process with the passport expediting division in Chicago, the biggest obstacle (getting a passport renewed so quickly) was out of the way- 4 finals stood in the way of me and the coolest trip of my life to date. So, after a crazy finals week, very little sleep, and 12 hours in Ft. Wayne to pack, I was aboard a plane.
Now that I have given you some meaningless details that have made you either stop reading, fall asleep, or commit suicide, I will attempt to explain in a short amount of space just how meaningful this trip was to me.
First and foremost, it was such an adventure to be inundated into a new culture so quickly. I had very little time to prepare mentally for this, so going with the flow was imperative. Lucky for me, as confusing as Scottish roads and landscape are, the people and scenery are both wonderful and beautiful.
Never have I been so stressed out as Scott (the Dean) and I were nearly 2 hours late for the presentation because we had found a way to get lost in nearly every roundabout in Glasgow. However, if it were not for this, I would not have had to ask a kind Ford car dealer (I know, you were probably thinking he should be selling Land Rovers or BMW's...I was of the same sentiment) for directions, and in doing so, learned one of the most valuable lessons in my life to date. In asking this man, Stuart, for directions I began to realize just how friendly the locals were (and there were countless other examples of this as the trip went on). Not only did Stuart take a brand new car off the lot to escort us to our destination, he would absolutely not accept any payment for doing so, and simply said he was happy to help because Americans were hospitable to him when he came across the pond to our country. My initial thought was, he must not have been on the east coast for long, but my following reflections on this event helped me realize that this man's eagerness to help a fellow human in need was intriguing and challenging to me. In short, this was the first of many encounters with locals on this trip that impressed me a great deal and began to challenge the way that I deal with other people.
Every day I come into contact with others and have three options.
1. Act in a way that makes their day better
2. Act in a way that makes their day worse
3. (And the outcome of this is closely related to number two)- Do Nothing at all
So, as I reflected on Stuart's reaction to my asking for directions, it became clear to me that helping someone in need was almost second nature to him- something that he did without question or reserve. And then I examined my own life and all of the times I have been approached for help/seen a circumstance in which I had the opportunity to better someone's life, and how many times I have failed to act in a way that added value. Why do I do this?
I'm sure I could list a litany of excuses as to why I don't help, and certainly there are many times in which I do help. However, I think the more profound lesson to be learned was the attitude in which he helped our convoy.
This post may be a bit Kantian in nature, and there are certainly exceptions to what I am about to say, but I would suspect that most of the time, we do not help others for the right reasons. Think about this for a second- look at our culture. How many people give large sums of money anonymously? How many people are OK with extending a good amount of effort to help someone else without some sort of ROI- whether it be "points" for an organization, accolades from peers to recognize just how great of a fellow you are, or an expectation of a future favor in return, an IOU if you will.
I can't think of many examples. And I know many would argue the Utilitarian side of the coin and state that these incentives set in place to encourage philanthropic behavior ultimately better off society, so why does it matter why people do it? Maybe it doesn't matter- all I know is that there is something to be said for the value of a "no strings attached" act of friendship that sparks a very real sense of humanity in me.
Not to say that those who are helped should not reciprocate when possible. They should. However, if the motivation behind the "helping" is other's-centered, rather than self-centered, we may start to see even more acts of philanthropy throughout society and the world.
Why? This is a valid question. And my limited conjecture would be simply this- if we as humans are generally willing to help others only when some sort of incentive is set in place to reward our behavior, chances are that we are less likely to act in situations in which there is no clear incentive to help. Maybe there is a rare occasion in which we are having a good day and we are simply obliged by some invisible sense of humanity to help out a fellow man, but I would suspect that more often than not, we do the right thing for the wrong reasons. If our only motivation for munificent behavior is to simply better the day of someone else, and if this was pervasive in society, we may see a chain reaction (albeit a slow one) of actions that construct rather than destroy. Of words that heal rather than harm. And of motivations that are pure, rather than perverted.
Maybe I am being a bit idealistic here, but if I am going to have to get up and encounter people every day, I would prefer to leave someone's life a little better than the condition in which I found it. All to often, I have allow hinderances such as a busy life or a stressful day to impede my ability to see opportunities to lend a helping hand, but I hope after this trip, I view my life through a clearer lens of opportunity that allows me to reach out in friendship toward others rather than lash out in an inhumane manner that suggests that my fellow man's life is subordinate to my own. To do so is the very essence of selfishness and ultimately, death to one's soul.
More thoughts/stories/lessons from Scotland to come...
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