Western Walkabout: Pride
...a man should be able to take pride in himself and his work. That way he would always do his best and get some satisfaction out of his life.
In his view, when you are very poor, it’s only your pride that will keep you going...
Richard Harris tells of a man with sound advice on how to live a long and happy life.
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In early 1960 I knew a man who landed in Australia with few possessions and very little money.
He had no job and no friends in Melbourne, where he disembarked from the immigrant ship.
He declined to go with the other immigrants to a hostel in the suburbs but instead booked a room in a residential in the inner city.
People told him “Go and work on the Snowy Mountains Scheme.”
“No,” he said.
“Get a job as a waiter,” they said.
“Not me,” was the reply.
The problem was, he explained, that when you have next to nothing and your back is to the wall, you still have your pride and you must not allow anybody, including yourself, to take that from you.
“I know who I am,” he said. “And what I can do.
“I was brought up in a hotel – I’ve been a waiter and a barman. That’s not me. I’ve worked as a survey hand for engineers building the national electricity grid. That’s not for me, either.”
He had been well educated and had useful skills in a literary environment.
He argued that a man should be able to take pride in himself and his work. That way he would always do his best and get some satisfaction out of his life.
In his view, when you are very poor, it’s only your pride that will keep you going.
He saw life through a simple Old Testament lens. Fear God and keep His commandments. Take pride in your appearance and your work. Do your best at being who you are.
Checking up on his whereabouts years later, I found he had enjoyed his life, especially his work for various employers, and was looking forward to his old age in Perth.
“Do you have any tips for longevity?” I asked him.
He pondered this for a moment, then told off five points on the fingers of his left hand, starting with the thumb –
”Try to find beauty around you.
“Make friends.
“Teach yourself to be happy.
“Eat plenty of fruit and veggies.
“Don’t die.”
He didn’t even mention pride. But it’s there, all the same. I would add on his behalf “Take pride in yourself and in the end you can stand before God looking good.”
