Heroes

Today is Rememberance Day in Australia and across most of the Commonwealth countries of the world.

World War I formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918when the Germans signed the Armistice Agreement.

Today, 91 years later, we remember not just the brave young men and women who fought in this war but also the men and women who serve and have served across any number of campaigns across the world in recent years.

Volunteering as a Soldier of War back then was considered a noble act of sacrifice. In many ways, it was viewed in much the same light as we now revere and acknowledge those who serve so valiantly in our emergency services.

These days, serving in the army is a career as much as any other and it isn't considered "volunteering" as much anymore. However, in 1918, it appears that electing to become a soldier was very much about "volunteering" and this was deemed something so valued and honorable a decision as to be considered heroic - even before actual heroism could be practised in the field.

All volunteers are heroes!

Whether they volunteer to protect us in extreme situations like war, famine, disease, and emergency or whether they give a few moments to help a disabled person wrap christmas gifts, devote years of service to the Country Women's Association, their local bookclub or on a committee or board of management.

Volunteering is altruism in its purest form. That being said, what volunteers get back from their giving is often far more valuable. Various resources are now claiming that volunteering has a positive impact on the volunteers health and wellbeing. Who are we to argue with this? We see it in practise all the time in the country! Thankfully, volunteering isn't about dying on battlefields anymore - it is about celebrating Life - in all of its fulness.

Remember our soldiers today. Give thanks for their contribution to the work that they do and have done. What they did - and what they still do - gives the volunteers of today the opportunity to keep making the world a safer, better and more amazing place in which to be alive.