A hard lesson

It has been brought home to me over the last couple of weeks that the application form used when joining the local Lions Club should carry a warning along the lines of "Completing this form may damage your health".

There seem to be three distinct phases of a person's membership of a Lions Club. It is completely impossible to know when one moves from one phase to the next, especially as there is no chronological indication of any kind, but it is relatively easy for a fellow Lion to distinguish which phase one is in. The first phase is when the new (or newish) member is feeling his feet and gradually easing himself (or herself - take it for granted that where I use the masculine it is intended to be fully inclusive) into the day-to-day activities of the club. There usually comes a time when he is fully integrated and has moved into phase two. This is the really useful phase during which the Lion plays a full part in the club and can be relied on to organise a fund-raising event or service activity. Unfortunately, there are a few Lions who never quite manage to make the transition from phase one to phase two but that doesn't mean that they should not be members of the club. They can be excellent foot soldiers, willing to undertake jobs under the leadership and instruction of a Lion who has progressed to phase two. It sometimes helps to have more Indians and fewer chiefs.

Some people avoid phase three completely by simply leaving; others make a gradual transition into it. This is the time when, although still members of the club, Lions feel unable to do as much as they once did - possibly through loss of interest, possibly through ill health or advancing years. But they, too, have a part to play. Their years of experience and knowledge of both the Lions organisation and the world at large is there to be tapped into even if they are no longer capable of spending a day chopping wood.

So where does the potential health damage come in? It's in phase two. The danger is that a Lion can become over-enthusiastic, letting the club and Lions' activities take over his life to the extent that he has no interests outside Lions, his job is just a means of earning money and his home and garden are left to look after themselves. I have come across a very similar situation just recently. A Lion I know very well has had to take sick leave due to stress. His problem is that he hasn't learned to say, ‘No'. If someone has suggested something should be done, he has always been the first to volunteer. If he has had an idea for a service activity or fund-raiser, he has always had to lead it.

I know what it is like: I have been there. Well, almost there: I have fortunately managed to draw back more than once when I realised (either of my own accord or because it has been pointed out to me) that my involvement first in Scouting and later in Lions was in danger of damaging irrevocably my family life. I have learned the lesson of saying, ‘No'.

One of my fellow Lions submitted a piece for publication in the recent issue of Jungle Jottings in which he recalled advice given to him many years ago: one's family comes first, one's job second. If there is time left over, give some of it to the Lions. Some of it, not all. We Lions of several years standing owe it to other members of our clubs to make sure both we and others know when to say, ‘No'.