Mustafa Kawser, Jerry Dixon, Azam Golam. Rockefeller Center Summer Garden, May, 1994

This is a photo of myself with my coworkers and friends, Mustafa and Azam. Here we stand in front of Prometheus at the Rockefeller Center Garden/Ice Rink in May of 1994. I’d worked at that complex as a waiter for 4 years and was now leaving, getting photos with my friends before I left them. It was here at Rock Center that I found something which, at that time and still today, would resonate so deeply with me and align, as best as any words have been able, to my own core beliefs and principals. There are many quotes I’ve found over the years that align with myself but this one, in an overall way, best exemplified that which I also believe. It is as close to a credo for myself as I’ve ever found.

It was written by John D. Rockefeller Jr., the man responsible for the great Rockefeller Center complex, built in the depths of the Depression. ( I actually waited on his son David once, an older but respectful and kind man) His words are on a plaque which stand  at the entrance to the Ice Rink with 30 Rock towering above.

I BELIEVE

I Believe …in the Supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I Believe…that every right implies a responsibility, every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.

I Believe…that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master.

I Believe…in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

I Believe…that thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.

I Believe…that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order.

I Believe…in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word should be as good as his bond; that character–not wealth or power or position–is of supreme worth.

I Believe…that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free.

I Believe…in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individuals highest fulfillment, greatest happiness, and wisest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with his will.

I Believe…that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.

JOHN D ROCKEFELLER JR.