Reflections:You Must Be A Winner!

                     

By Marie Boisjoly, adapted

The other day a bumper sticker caught my attention. Resigned Alcoholic. It was meant as a joke, I’m sure, and it got a smile out of me, but as I thought about it more I realized how easy it is to resign ourselves to weaknesses or circumstances that hold us back from becoming all we could be. We may not think of ourselves as defeatists, but if we accept that rationale, we’re defeated. 

When we start excusing ourselves, we stop progressing. I’m an avid reader, and I always keep some uplifting reading on my bedside table. One of my favourites is a collection of short biographies and quotes from great men and women—not that I aspire to such greatness, but I find their examples a source of strength to meet life’s daily challenges. What made these people great? Some of the qualities most often cited by both historians and their peers were their foresight, moral character, selflessness, and perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I’m sure that each of those great men and women had other intangibles, but for one man in particular it was his faith and tenacity. His name was William Wilberforce (1759-1833).

During his 18-year parliamentary campaign to abolish the slave trade throughout the British Empire, his first 11 bills were defeated. At times, the political hostility against him erupted into personal hatred, insult, slander, and even a threat on his life by a sea captain involved in the slave trade. But he never accepted defeat. “It is necessary to keep an eye on him,” one adversary remarked of Wilberforce, “because he has been blessed with a good quantity of this enthusiasm spirit that is far from giving up and that gets more vigorous with every blow!”

Where did he get this “enthusiasm spirit”? Biographers may not agree on every detail of his experience, but all credit his faith with fuelling his fire. All the while, he also contended with debilitating health problems. His eyesight was so bad that he once wrote, “I can scarce see how to direct my pen.” Bedridden for weeks at a time, he also suffered from curvature of the spine (one writer of his day likened him to a “human corkscrew,” and he wore an iron corset for 15 years), an ulcerated colon, and a severe bout of influenza from which he never fully recovered. And of course medicine 200 years ago was not what it is today. At one point Wilberforce became addicted to the latest “wonder drug,” opium. Had Wilberforce given up his fight, others would have quickly excused him for health reasons, if nothing else. But he was looking for change, not excuses.

The Slave Trade Act was passed into law in 1807, and in 1833, three days before he died, he received word that enough votes had been secured to ensure passage of the Slavery Abolition Act, and the emancipation of slaves. I’m no William Wilberforce, but why resign myself to what are really petty problems when there’s a world to set free, starting with me?

I’m resigned to win!