(This is a lightly edited version of an address given recently by Chief Executive Officer of Paymaster Jamaica, Audrey Marks, at an event organised by the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd)

I am told that the purpose of this event is to bring the customer service community together to share valuable knowledge and insights pertaining to the theme “Everyday Heroes” … communicating a message of “Heroes, Championing the Customer’s cause”. This is a great theme.

Around the world, Jamaica is celebrated for our great accomplishments in music, sports, and other individual accomplishments. And we are proud of this. However, more and more we are aware that there is a disconnect between the brand that has been built up over many years by a number of great individuals — Marcus Garvey, Mary Seacole, Bob Marley, Usain Bolt, to name a few — and the reality of living in Jamaica of today.

In this disconnect, we are living in a country which is failing in all the major socio-economic indicators: GDP, literacy, justice, security, health care, environment, governance, etc. The impact of our failure is wrapped up in our murder rate. Jamaica is in the top five most murderous countries in the world, on track to continue this terrible, sinful record of the taking of 1,200 lives this year.

Jamaica is, therefore, in a deep crisis, and we the ordinary every day people are trying our best to disconnect from these realities. A recent poll says 56 per cent of Jamaicans are not even prepared to exercise the right to vote, a right for which many of our forebears, our heroes of the past, sacrificed their lives. If ever there is a time we need every day heroes, the time is now! It is time to reconnect by voting and participating in all other areas of national life. Fortunately, the easiest act of heroism that is needed to come to the rescue of our beautiful country is one that we can all do: it is to love, starting with self-love.

Self-love starts with our self-image. I am constantly amazed at how many of us don’t really love ourselves; it is almost impossible to really love others and care for others when we do not love ourselves. In Jamaica of today, we have over 65 per cent of households headed by single mothers; this is very stressful for these mothers and this stress is passed on to our children from an early age. We also have unacceptable levels of ‘barrel children’, incest, teenage pregnancies and other social abnormalities impacting a significant number of our people.

This reality came home to me a couple years ago when I was the executive in a new office environment. Before going to the office, I was told how toxic the work environment was and how awful the persons working in that office were. Fortunately, having previously been a manager in three large companies and having provided employment for over 500 persons in the course of my entrepreneurial endeavours, I was unshaken and resolute in the belief that we are all diamonds… some in the rough, but nothing real love and respect …what I will call Tender Loving Care (TLC) can’t transform in just about any person and environment.

In that new office environment, I spent the first few weeks reviewing personnel files and doing individual ‘getting to know you’ interview sessions. What I gathered from that microcosm of the Jamaican society, is that so many adults today are carrying scars from childhood, which have become so embedded in the psyche that we are not able to see ourselves for who we really are — children of God, created to be happy, holy (whole), and healthy.

My first TLC thought to share with you today is, therefore, that you should become mindful of the image that you have created of yourself and awaken to the fact of who you really are; you are made in the image and likeness of the Creator of the universe. How awesome is that! You only have to believe and it starts with the first half of the Golden Rule, “loving the Lord with all your soul” and allowing the transformation and renewal of your mind to follow.

The second part of our TLC is how we speak to ourselves. Many times we are extremely negative in our descriptions … I am not well, I am broke, I am too fat, I am not able, etc. God spoke the world into being. Do we realise that we also, as sparks of the Divine, being children of God, have the creative energy and power of the spoken word? I want to ask you to become very mindful of how you use the very powerful words of “I am”, because whatever comes after “I am” is an affirmation, which you will manifest. If you can’t speak well of yourself, it is extremely difficult to speak well of others; and it is essential in this call to service to master the habit of seeing and speaking about yourself in the highest forms.

The first time I was called ‘Your Excellency’, I was in a state of uncertainty and panic. I was not sure I was deserving of such a title. I had to immediately start an introspection to review and clean up any area of my life which would come into conflict with excellence. I became minutely aware of my thoughts, words and actions and consciously strived for excellence in all my ways. The truth is that I should have been that way before, because we are all called to be Ambassadors of Christ. This is the purpose for which we are here …we are called to awaken our Christ consciousness and live a life of service to God and our fellow human beings.

The third TLC thought to share with you on this call to superior service, is a reminder from the second half of the Golden Rule “Love your neighbour as yourself”. This is the essence of our calling. Our lack of love for each other is manifested in the relationship crisis in our country. As a norm in the Jamaica of today, we do not communicate love, respect or care for each other in our homes, offices, churches, communities or country. This lack of love in our actions and communication is resulting in an alarming trust deficit, disrespect for normative behavior, and ultimately disregard for each life. It is purported that the late great pollster, Prof Carl Stone, found that most Jamaicans only use an average of 200 English words, the rest of the communication are grunts and slangs…. ‘u si mi!’, most of which could easily be interpreted as aggressive.

On my full return to Jamaica after being away for only three years, when I started to listen to the radio stations again, I was shocked to my core. I then realised that most of the dancehall and calypso music of today were about obvious animal level sexuality, violence and the objectifying of women. When you are in an environment every day, sometimes it is easy to become numb to what is happening, so I did not realise this descent until I took a break out of the environment. A root word for music is muse, which means deep thinking. In Jamaica today, the biggest influence on the mind and thoughts of the most impressionable segment of our population is our music and every day we are bombarded with music about sex, murder, aggression, and degradation of women. This is now playing out in our daily lives: indiscipline in our schools, young women burning their private parts at dances, the vulgarity and expletives screamed at each other in homes, traffic situations and even in the exchanges in our parliament. And I could go on… countless examples of the low energy level at which our national consciousness is operating.

We have adopted the popular phase ‘tun it up’ in our lingua. Now is the time to do so, the right way….let us uplift ourselves and each other to go higher: up, up, up … with good values, excellent behaviour, good manners and a kinder gentler attitude. Buckminster Fuller reminds and challenges us: “Never forget that you are one of a kind. And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life’s challenges and problems seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter in the world come about. So be that one person.”

Sometime ago I read a speech on service by Robert Lane and it left quite an impression on me, so in conclusion, I want to share with you this wonderful exhortation: “Life is a calling of service.” However it is in caring for others that, you’ll also find your own life enriched. If life is a calling of service to others, it doesn’t just mean in your spare time. Serving others encompasses more than volunteering for worthy projects or writing a check to commendable organisations. While those actions are vitally important, please do recognise that your daily activities can be embedded with service to others”. This starts with an appreciation of the God-given dignity and worth of each individual – and how you incorporate this attitude throughout every hour of your day, whether working for pay or not.

It inspired me to remember that although my title is CEO, my most important role is Chief Customer Service Officer. This means looking into the eyes of each person I meet and ensuring that each engagement is a meaningful contact. Every person I see — the groundsman, security guard, manager, customer, I try to at least offer a smile. I was reminded that, “we do not need to do anything — but recognise that every person, like you and I, was created in God’s image and has inherent dignity”. Remembering each individual’s value and worth is the first step toward service to others.

This is clearly not a foreign concept to you at JPSCo, whose very mission and vision speak to enriching the lives of others and a commitment to service. I have also noted the culture change taking place in JPSCo, with a full focus on caring and serving. Congratulations to you, President Kelly Tomlin and team.

Similarly, the value of each individual is not foreign to us as Jamaicans; our motto is “Out Of Many One People”.

We are naturally tolerant and embracing of our differences in race, religion, and to some extent, more recently, sexual preferences. We are naturally generous, creative, spiritual, and big-hearted. In my varied encounters, from the one room shack to many mansions in our villages, cities and in the diaspora, I am constantly humbled into a state of deep gratitude at how people have blessed me with their lives, and I am not a unique recipient of this generosity. We, therefore, need now, through a movement of love and respects to take back the energy of our country from the negative aspects of our society, harness the reclaimed energy and redirect and distribute that energy into the positive aspects of whom we are.

I will leave you with my most meaningful take away from Robert Lane, “Customer Service in this is more than a responsibility: It is a privilege…. It is evidence of your faith. And when you submit to something larger than yourself, you will realise your true potential…. finding real happiness and fulfillment through service to others.”

Audrey Marks is also former Jamaican Ambassador to the United States.