Hello Lions!

            I love quotes, don’t you?  Especially quotes from famous people.  Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”  I personally do not agree 100 percent with the second part.  I don’t entirely agree that a discussion of events is a sign of “average” intelligence. 

 

            But I fully agree with the third part of the quote.  How many times do we try to defend our own views with so much passion and vigor that we end up sidetracked into pointless arguments, directed at “who” is talking, rather than “what” they are saying.  Constant questioning and discussion are a major part of life in any association, including our very own Lions Clubs International.

 

            In participating in any gathering of Lions, large or small, in a convention or seminar, you will always find rich discussions going on at dinner tables, in hallways, coffee shops, and, of course, bar lounges!  Oftentimes the most valuable thing you learn at a seminar comes from a discussion outside the formal educational sessions.

 

            Certainly not all the discussion is of a particularly high quality.  The point is that you never know from what unlikely source the next very important, applicable idea is going to emerge, an idea that may lead you to a great project in serving your Lions community or a novel idea for starting a new club or a fundraiser for some important charity and on and on and on.

 

            We all must keep in mind what Eleanor Roosevelt said, to listen for truth and wisdom in what every person says, especially Lions, even when something is said in anger, in ignorance, or by someone representing a position or a cause we disagree with.

 

            Let’s all work together to work on ideas that are worthy of debating, illuminating, and perfecting, without being led off course into trivial issues of personality.

 

VDG Joe