ALEXIA SCOTT is a senior
biological sciences major
and a Daily Nebraskan
columnist.
The streets of Calcutta are darker
this week. Dark like the hearts of
people around the world who are
mourning the memory of a woman
who would ask for neither of these.
President Jacques Chirac of France
explained that with the loss of
Mother Theresa, “there is less love in
the world, less compassion, less
light.” I agree with President Chirac;
the world has lost one of its brightest
stars.
Does this mean those Mother
Teresa leaves behind are doomed to
live in darkness? Probably not -- her
sisters of the Missionaries of Charity
will continue her earthly work. But I
believe that one of us has a responsi
bility to take up her light and contin
ue in the spirit of her mission.
This task could seem daunting to
the most noble of souls. Could you
or I become the next Mother Teresa?
It’s possible, yes, but in my case it’s
unlikely I’ll fill her tiny shoes. Even
if we can’t be her, we can still do
something. It’s Mother Teresa’s mis
sion that we should carry on. Her life
was dedicated to the less fortunate,
giving shelter to those who have
been turned out, spending time serv
ing others no one would serve.
Although the streets of Calcutta were
her home, Mother Teresa’s spirit can
be found wherever. There are people
in need right here in Lincoln and on
Serving spirit [
People need to follow in light,
footsteps Mother Teresa left
the campus of the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln.
In the chaotic world swirling
around us, it has become less and
less popular to give one’s time and
talents. This negativity has paved the
way for the maturation of an unin
volved, unsympathetic, and desensi
tized community. Compare this
image with that of Mother Teresa; a
womjm who gave herself to the poor
est and most unwanted members of
our global community.
You see, each of us has the ener
gy to make a positive difference in
someone’s daily life. Although we’re
all busy, we waste enough time each
day to be able to contribute some
thing more than we do now.
The options and opportunities for
involvement are numerous. Every
time my roommate and I help to
cook and serve a meal at Matt Talbot
Kitchen we are reminded that even
the tightest months leave us with
food on our table, whereas some of
our neighbors are not so fortunate. In
the 30 minutes that it will take you to
copy your notes or read a chapter of
a book on tape for a student with a
disability, you have saved that person
hours of struggle. Serving as a Big
Sister or Big Brother will provide
you with the opportunity to regress
to your own childhood while giving
that child a much needed role model
and friend.
I know that some of you think
there isn’t an volunteer opportunity
out there that would interest you or
that there isn’t an organization that
really needs you, but you’re wrong. I
challenge you to search out these
possibilities. If you are politically
active, take a look at your beliefs and
find activities that relate to those.
Reflect on the activities that you
enjoy and find a place to share or
teach those to others. Are you will- _
ing to educate school kids about sex
education in order to aid in the pre
vention of teenage pregnancy?
Could you teach English as a second
language to people trying to under
stand their host country better? Or
instruct social assistance recipients
on basic budgeting skills in order to
help them get on their feet? g
The bottom lme is that this life is “
all about sharing our talents, whatev
er they may be. It is about doing
something positive with the energy
and the time that we are given,
because in the end it is the difference
that we make in our world that will
be remembered. The loss of Mother
Teresa is so disheartening simply
because she represented hope and
love in a world that is desperate to
find them. To the many lives she
touched, hers was the touch of angel
and a face of God. To those of us
who watched her, she was a source
of strength and awe; a humbling
reminder of what we are here to
accomplish.
Taking the time to spark the
flame of another will be the most
rewarding experience you can imag
ine. For surely, if we all work togeth
er we can replenish the light of
which President Chirac spoke.
STEVE CULLEN is an
advertising major and a
Daily Nebraskan colum
nist.
It was nice to find out that after
1.6 million years I’m right on track.
I doubted it for a while. That’s
because every time I was out for a
run I was heckled by couch-faring
types. And I love thick, juicy steaks.
But every time I go to cut in one,
people tell me of the dangers of red
meat and how they’re sworn vegetar
ians. There had to be a reason why I
was so in love with these things.
Now I have a theory explaining
why the couch potatoes are always
complaining and why the vegetari
ans are missing out.
Red meat and running are the
root of all good. In fact we wouldn’t
be here without them. To understand
how this happened and how it
affects all of us, we need to look at
some choices.
A while back, lived the greatest
of great-grandparents. They were
vegetarians whose physiques were
designed with long limbs for climb
ing. They usually only came to
ground to move from tree cluster to
tree cluster.
While down from the trees, some
started to eat the different flora
found in the lower areas. This
diverse, nutritious diet allowed them
to outlast their tree-only kin. Soon,
our ancestors began to spend more
time on the ground, traveling farther
distances, pursuing their new diet,
and therefore adapting to a new
lifestyle.
As time passed and travelers
ranged farther, our ancestors came
across leftover carcasses. Already
diverse eaters, they enjoyed the new
dish and began to search for it more
often. In order to get the meat one
I
Meat, fitness help some celebrate
history of hunting, humanness
thing had to happen. “Early us” had
no way of getting the good meat off
the carcasses. So came the day when
we first picked up a rock and it
became a tool. A butcher’s tool.
Generations passed, the tools got
better and our fore-parents improved
at traveling for, defending and carv
ing up red meat. But they were not
satisfied. Our ancestors wanted
control over their own existence.
One day your oldest elder looked
up over the Plains and saw the abun
dance of life that inhabited it.
Across the tall grasses the herds
flowed back and forth, grazing and
drinking. On that day, with the tools
to eat meat, and the unique body to
get to it, your fore-parent put history
under his or her own two feet and
began to hunt in a very unique way.
You see, without the technology
to make weapons, or the speed to
run game down, they needed another
way of getting their food. Ever
opportunistic and forward-thinking,
our ancestors noticed that during the
middle of the day it was too hot for
the big cats to hunt. That leaves us
time to hunt.
It’s pretty amazing. We are the
only creatures on earth designed and
capable of traveling tremendous dis
tances at a time (the world record is
some six days straight, 600 plus
miles running).
This is what it means to us today
(besides the fact that vegetarians are
wrong about humans not being
designed to eat meat): We as humans
are capable of tremendous feats of
the body and posses unrivaled ener
gy in the animal kingdom.
It also means that our very
species is built on the fact that we
will not settle for second place - we
can take charge of our own destiny.
We are humans because we are
determined to make it in the world -
whatever it may be. We are humans
because we want it all and are will
ing to go to the ends of the earth to
get it.
We often take pride in our her
itage: Irish, Zulu, Thai. But we
rarely look at the common element
that makes us all great. We never
stop to look at the marvel of our
selves, our design, our potential, our
achievements. We often forget we
are capable of making the choices
that shape the future.
Those ancestors had no idea that
they would set into motion the
wheels that would endow us with the
gift of fitness - the ability to adapt
and grow stronger, faster, more
agile. Think of it: You are some
body’s ancestor. What will you make
them into? What will you leave for
them?
Let us not be blind to our own
marvelous potential. Humanness
does not know race, color, income,
religion, sexual preference or
whether you’ve failed in the past or
not. Being human means that you
are capable. You are important to
the fate of mankind; what you do
matters.
To be human means having inge
nuity. To be human means possess
ing the will to survive anything. To
be human means to use the body to
its maximum potential. To be human
means to have the ability make deci
sions and an impact. The couch-far
ers have forgotten to take pride in
themselves; they waste abilities that
have taken 1.6 million years to
develop.
That’s my theory. I believe in the
potential of all humans. Hey, how
can 100,000 generations of running
steak-eaters be wrong!
As for those reading: Look
across the Plains of life. Set your
sights on the biggest, baddest goal
you can spot... and chase it into the
ground.
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