Love Self, Love Others

Paymaster boss Ambassador Audrey Marks has expressed the view that Jamaica is on track to reach a record 1,200, or more, murders this year if we do not start to love ourselves and others. She made the observation at the recently held Jamaica Public Service Customer Service seminar, held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

Marks observed that worldwide, Jamaica is celebrated for its great accomplishments in music and sports, but there remains a serious disconnect between the branding established by persons such as Usain Bolt and Bob Marley and the failure in the "major socio-economic indicators of gross domestic product, literacy, productivity, health and governance, particularly over the last 20 years".

She noted that Jamaica is in such a deep crisis that ordinary people are trying hard to disconnect from these realities. "If ever there was a need for everyday heroes, it is now," Marks said, adding, "we can all show the heroism needed to rescue Jamaica by improving our

self-image, loving ourselves and others, too."

Marks noted further that real love and respect can transform anyone into good, even if many adults have embedded childhood scars in their psyches. She presented three keys to developing excellent customer service.

"Become mindful of the image that you have created of yourself, and wake up to who you really are, made in the image and likeness of the creator of the universe. It starts by loving the Lord with all your soul and allowing the transforming and renewing of your mind to follow."

The second was the avoidance of negative self-thoughts and speech.

"Many times we are extremely negative in our descriptions such as, 'I am not well' or 'I am broke', but be very mindful of how you use the very powerful words of I am because whatever comes after is an affirmation you will manifest," she said.

"Finally, we are often reminded to love our neighbour as ourselves. This is the essence of our calling and encapsulates the crisis in our country. Today, we do not communicate love, respect and care for each other in our homes, offices, churches, communities and country. This lack of meaningful communication is resulting in an alarming trust deficit, disrespect for normative behaviour and, ultimately, what now manifests as disrespect for life.

national consciousness

"When you are in an environment every day, sometimes it is easy to become numb to what is happening. Much of the music we hear is about animal levels of sexuality, violence and the objectifying of women. This is now playing out in our daily lives with the indiscipline in our schools, young women burning their private parts at dances, the vulgarity screamed at each other in traffic situations, and in our Parliament, all examples of the low level at which our national consciousness is operating.

"Customer service is more than a responsibility. when you submit to something larger than yourself, you will realise your true potential, finding real happiness and fulfillment through service to others," Marks said.