By The Beacon Editorial Board
To give your life in the service of others is the noblest of causes. 2009 UP alumna Molly Hightower epitomized that adage in every way through her service in Haiti.
Her passing leaves an immeasurable loss, and no memorial can do justice to the full breadth of her deeds and the compassion she had for others.
But it's worthy to remember and honor the scale of her giving and the life in her years.
Theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman once said, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Molly came alive in every sense of the word. She had the serendipitous quality of fully living through serving those most in need in the world.
It's often too easy to forget or overlook those who work in a darkened world. And if there were ever a place in need of light and attention, Haiti would be it. Here, Molly carried the torch for the University of Portland.
At Friends of the Orphans, Molly served special needs children and administered physical therapy for the disabled.
She comforted and cared for babies who never knew their parents, and likely never would.
Molly experienced the full range of the emotional spectrum on a daily basis.
In a single day, she shared laughs with orphaned children and blessed babies who died in the hospital, some of whom she had held days before.
These were the real moments: the quiet times that are not heralded.
Molly did more for those orphans in half a year than many of us will ever know. It's the sweat and tears outside the spotlights that will last.
Those are the real payoffs.
Molly figured out that what ultimately paid off wasn't the fleeting fame and glory of a superstar, but rather a life serving with others and for others. Of course, for many whom she served, Molly was a superstar.
While it's a tall order to measure up to Molly's deeds, we can all at least try to follow in her example. Molly took the same time we all had and made it extraordinary.
It's a virtue we can all strive to replicate, even if we may never achieve it.
If we need a helping start, we can turn no further than to Molly's own words of reassurance for such times of grief. On Nov. 16, Molly posted a comment on her blog that profoundly sums up a worldview we can all use to comfort us in this time:
"Of course, there's always sadness to focus on if you choose to ... But then, Fabien comes in and trips all over herself to run and give you a hug, and Inderra makes eye contact with you from across the room and starts to laugh uncontrollably. You gotta focus on the good."
Thank you Molly Hightower for the life you led and for the ones you inspired.
