A grand and clear vision

PERSONS with a vision and the dedication to realize it within a reasonably welldefined time period—in the examples cited earlier—may be very different from one another. They belonged to different professions; they were of different ages and social status; some were married, and others remained single; a couple of them were priests, but most were laymen; and they had very different personalities.

But a common thread appears to bind them together: they all had the deep desire of becoming better, of doing something good for others, and of spending their life to make a concrete, practical difference in the ordinary world in which they lived. Moreover, they sought to nurture their personal friendship with Jesus. In other words, they had a vision.

That vision had to be grand. It had to entail at least one—perhaps two— big, hairy audacious goals. These would be difficult to attain; they would require strenuous, arduous efforts; they would have to put up with enormous sacrifices. But they were “ideal” enough to make it worthwhile to work towards attaining them. Moreover, they have to fall within one’s own personal mission in life as well as the few core values one had chosen to serve as anchors or foundational references for one’s life and work.

That vision also had to be clear. It had a definite end-date, when the vision is expected to be realized. It also took into account the practical, real world within which to pursue that vision. It demanded a thorough “looking over the shoulder,” to assess what others were doing, and what others were trying to achieve on their own steam. There is a clear niche to which one belongs; and one’s place in that niche, in the process of realizing the vision, should equally be clear. This means that in formulating one’s vision at any stage of our life, we can never just look at ourselves; we have to look carefully at the circumstances—real facts on the ground—surrounding us.

In making an assessment of the real facts around us, from the examples cited, we learn to always take a positive and confident attitude. We cannot have a proper vision if we are without hope, care, and belief in God. We need to look at facts as half-full, never as half-empty; and that with God’s grace and our effort, we can keep filling up that glass, if possible to the very brim. This is hope in practice: to look with confidence at the future and then work—today, now—in order to substantiate that hope.

We also need to care. Again, from the examples given, they had the common habit of showing their love for God by working well each day and attending to their ordinary duties with due diligence. Moreover, they set aside some time for prayer—and the sacraments—in their daily schedule: to help clear up doubts; to regain vigour when weakened; and to get back on the right road when thrown off from the main patch of highway by their weakness (or sinfulness).

We really have to believe deeply in God. From the examples considered, faith is not something purely theoretical, a matter for the head. It has to be as practical and concrete as doing one’s ordinary tasks with the conviction that God is with us. In other words, faith is given expression in many actions we do each day, and which we do with a genuine belief that God is there watching us and wanting to help us.

Hope, care, and belief: these may be grand ideas, way up there in the clouds. But for people with a vision to realize, we need to bring these down to earth, i.e. down to the manner we live and work each day, never losing sight of our personal vision.