Live Happy … Today – Day 13

Today, I want to share a simple secret to happiness. Are you ready? It goes like this: True happiness starts with your ability to put your selfish desires aside and make someone else’s life better. Is that what you are doing in your life?

I want to share the above-mentioned principle in a story from the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany:

The athletics stadium was packed when the black American sprinter, Jesse Owens, prepared for the running long jump item. At that stage, Jesse had already won three gold medals at the Olympics and was on the verge of a fourth. The leader of the Nazi-party, Adolf Hitler’s racist influence, however, was evident in the crowd’s hostility towards the black athletes. What made matters worse for Jesse was that he competed against the German favourite, Luz Long, for the gold medal.

The insults and hostility from the crowd suddenly became overwhelming to Jesse and he stepped over the line twice, with failed attempts. With only one attempt left to qualify for the finals, he tried everything to get his concentration back. One more failed attempt and his dream of a fourth gold medal would perish.

All Germans eyes were on Luz. With every misstep on Jesse’s side, Luz’s chance of winning the gold medal for the Germans increased. Before Jesse’s last jump, the stadium suddenly became quiet as Luz did the unthinkable. He walked over to Jesse. Before the games, these two competitors heard about each other, but they had never spoken to one another. Luz saw that Jesse was overwhelmed by the crowd’s hostility and struggled to concentrate.

In front of thousands of people, Luz placed his hand on Jesse’s arm with the words: “Jesse, calm down. The qualifying distance is only 23 feet (7 metres) and you jumped 26 feet (7,9 metres) with ease in the past. Move your cursor where you start about 3 cm back, to prevent you from stepping over the line again.” Jesse followed Luz’s advice. With his next jump, he qualified. Later that day, he not only won his fourth gold medal, but also set a new world record.

In an interview after the Olympics, Jesse said that all his gold medals could be melted, but nothing would come close to the value of Luz’s friendship in that moment of panic. Luz put his selfish desires aside and made someone else’s life better. Even though the two men did not see each other after that day, as Luz died during World War II, a friendship was forged between them that Jesse would never forget.

Every year, on 18 July, we celebrate Mandela Day. South Africans all over the country focus, for 67 minutes, on making a difference in someone’s life – but why only for this one day? Why not make this a daily principle in our lives? In Proverbs 19:17 we read: “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” In Proverbs 21:13 we read: Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered. And in Matthew 25:40, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

The secret to true happiness? Move your selfish needs and desires aside for a moment, focus on investing in people and helping them to realise their dreams. Do this and you might find there are no limits to what God can do in and through your life. God bless.