Gregarious and Self-Reliant Individuals

-The best of you is the most contributing for others-

Everybody needs to be independence, firm on their feet firmly, without any fracas. However, they cannot live alone. They need others. They may live in their solitary, but they may not grow without love. They cannot.

Today’s generation needs some people who really care about how this nation would be in the future. These circumstances should be thought by bureaucrat only. We, as the next Indonesia generation, also can contribute our body, soul, and deliberation for this beloved nation. It is not as hard as we think actually. We must not begin a big idea from a big think. We can start to build this huge homeland by a very simple little thing. Like Aa’ Gym said, “Start from ourselves, start from small thing, and start it now.” It means that a big thing comes from a small thing. Who will fire up? The answer would be “ourselves”. Let's begin! We do not need to wait the others to start a good thing. Be an initiator for a superior entity! In addition, when will we start it? The definite answer must be “now”. It only takes a single thought to move the world; ACTION.

To begin it, we start from ourselves. Look inside ourselves. There is a perfect order hiding in ourselves, running in our veins. Anger, love, pain and all the things we are feeling that we cannot touch them with our hands. Make such a question, are they really there?  (Lyric of Maher Zain – Open your eyes) A strong character is needed to build Indonesia character. As a huge nation, we should not only depend our future to other countries, we should build our own notable. A self-reliant nation that begins with self-reliant individual.

A liberty does not mean that we can live individual with no other. As a social individual, we need the other to share, to help, and live together, making good relation in a living, loving, and caring the others. John E. Marston in Modern Public Relations (1979) states that, “Public Relation is planned, persuasive communication design to influence significant public,” (Segara: 32). From this statement, how important making relation with others, invite them doing many good things and build positive image building. This is what we need to build gregarious character.

Having a self-reliant personality is the very first beginning of commencing to build the strength in ourselves. As a big tree, it has a very strong root fix in the earth. Its branches up above the sky so high. After we build ourselves, our existence should give benefit for the others. “The best of you, the most contributing for others.” Like stated in Al-Qur’an, Surah Ibrahim ayah 24, “… A goodly word like a goodly tree, whose root is firmly fixed, and its branches (reach) to the heavens. It brings forth its fruit at all times by the leave of its Lord…”

It creates in our mind that a contributing people is pictured as a big tree that is very strong, cannot be crashed although a big storm comes. It is still fixed firmly. After it strengthen itself, it gives benefit around it. It shelters the others, and another can take advantages from it. Not only around it, all creatures around the world also can feel its part. Let us imagine. A big tree produce more quantity of oxygen, absorb more pollution, and its contribution will be bigger and bigger, because it means that it also reduces the global warming effect. In another word, it can be said that its benefit can be felt by whole universe.

If we learn the biography of popular person in the entire world, most of them have a good and inspiring personality like what is mentioned above. Let say Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran. His attitude is as not as president. How come? He considers himself as the other citizen, he dedicates himself to serve public. He does not live in luxurious, he prefers a simple life, instead. Although, he is a president, when he goes praying in Masjid, he must not always in the front line. He chooses to live in his simple house of himself instead of a big castle. He never receive the salary as a president. All his salary he gives back to his citizen’s business. That’s way all people in his nation loves him.

Ahmedinejad is a picture of a big tree which the root is very strong, and the branches shelter another. This world need us to build a unity. Now, let us make a commitment to save the whole universe by being a gregarious and self-reliant individual. Start from ourselves, start from small things, and start from now! The best of you is the most contributing for others.