Called to Serve
Wherever you find home is where you need to help
Last week, Mauro Morandi died. Not a household name by any stretch, even in Italy, but certainly a man with a legacy.
Mr. Morandi was a Physical Education teacher until he retired at the end of the 1970s. Full stop. Every teacher is a public servant. Teaching is an act of love and it is hard work. We all owe our gratitude to teachers.
But teaching is not what Mauro Morandi is known for. At least, not in the traditional sense.
For thirty-some years, Mauro Morandi lived on Budelli, an Italian island less than 1 square mile off the northeastern tip of Sardinia. And during all those years, he was the island’s only inhabitant. In the beginning, he was paid as a caretaker of the land and, later, when there was no money to pay him, he stayed on.
Mauro lived simply, a modern “Robinson Crusoe”. His mission? To protect the island. He picked up trash, maintained paths, and welcomed select people to visit the rare pink sand. In a place with no running water, enjoying the serenity of solitude, he eventually got an internet connection, which he used for social media. There he built a following of almost 70,000 as he showcased Budelli in his effort to help people develop a deeper relationship with nature. If you love a place, he believed, you will take care of it.
Mr. Morandi didn’t miss people. He didn’t miss living in town or living with modern conveniences. In fact, he was quite unhappy over what he believed humanity had become: too focused on the self and things than on community, understanding, and a simple life. It’s true that his time on the island was largely for his own satisfaction and sanity. Yet, if his example tells us anything, it’s that we can always find a way to be of service without compromising our own needs and happiness.
This week, my husband Tom was appointed to our town’s city council. He wasn’t elected – our lives have been far too chaotic in the last 18 months for a campaign – but an opening appeared, and he was selected from a pool of others who expressed interest.
To put this in context: In late 2023, we moved to the town where Tom grew up, only three blocks from his childhood home. Heading off to college led to 9 years away and his return resulted in a 30-year career at the County, all in the building and land use department. Our county has a population of 25,000 and our town, only one-tenth of that.
This is Tom’s home. The Wood River Valley. And Bellevue, the small town where he grew up largely defines who he is. This is what place does for us: it provides us an identity. And through that identity, we find community.
Now, this little town is not famous like its siblings up north. Our town is often ignored or used solely as a path to other places. Our town has also gone through four mayors in four years. Someone jokingly asked if we were the Titanic and Tom was coming on as a deckhand. Kinda funny… and no. We believe in this town. Heck, we may even get t-shirts that say, “Bellevue Believer”. Tom chose to serve on the city council because he believes he can help make a difference here.
Ultimately, I think, this is what matters most. Connection. Caring. Service.
May the next few days serve as an inspiration.
We each can serve in some way. Even right now. Even under the current conditions. Each one of us can make a difference. Maybe in politics. Maybe as stewards of nature. Maybe as teachers, inside or outside the classroom. Or maybe just as good neighbors.
Sweet Honey in the Rock have a powerful song called The Ballad of Harry T. Moore, which is absolutely worth listening to. But what has always stayed with me through the years is Bernice Johnson Reagon’s introduction to the song during a live recording. Take one minute to hear what she says:
Each of us can do something about what’s going on in our lives (in our community, in our country). She laughs when noting we spend a lot of time trying to stay this side of death, as if we actually could. Then the punchline: “You’re gonna die anyway, Make a difference!”
Well said, Dr. Reagon, well said.
Thank you, Dr. King, for the reminder.
And Mauro Morandi, thank you for your example that service can be done in all kinds of ways.
What do you think? How are you making a difference? What is your passion or dream that is bigger than yourself? Remember, great things start from seeds…
Jan, your words make us think about our purpose, in life and living!
Thank you my friend for raising the value of inner perspective about life.
I am grateful for you! Pat
I hope all our desires to do something good for the world or even our communities will come to something. I have to believe they will. Thank you for reminding us.