Okay, class, today we’ll start with a pop quiz. Read the following quotes and guess the age, gender, marital status and educational background of the person who said them.
“God, use me as an instrument of love. Put me in front of the people who need kindness today.”
“If you’re kind to a stranger you could change their day.”
“You can’t be kind to others unless you’re kind to yourself.”
“Go out and lead with love.”
“Sometimes we’re too quick to write people off.”
“We were not born to hate.”
“You build freedom through discipline.”
“It’s hard to say difficult things to the people we love.”
Okay, the envelope please: The person who conveyed each of these thoughts is a 26-year-old young man who has not yet graduated from college.
I’ve known Herbie Floyd, a next-door neighbor at our summer community, since he was a toddler, often seen walking in front of our house with a droopy diaper and a dazzling smile.
Herbie grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. A fine athlete, he served as Captain of the Newton South football team for which he was the starting linebacker. “I wasn’t the fastest or the strongest player,” he admits, “but I was a good team member.” At the end of the season, he received the Award of Excellence “for an exemplary display of sportsmanship, ethics and integrity.”
Herbie went on to Elon College in North Carolina, but he left after his first year. “I was struggling. I was lost. I didn’t know who I was or why I was there or what I wanted to do to make me happy. And I didn’t want my parents to waste $60,000 a year, so I dropped out.” As an aside, Herbie added, “Parents would be shocked if they knew what was really happening on college campuses today. There’s lots of drinking and drugs; most kids are just delaying adulthood. More young people should take at least a year off before they start college.”
Taking a six-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course at the UMass Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, proved life-changing. He became immersed in the practice of yoga and today he’s a certified yoga instructor. An immensely popular teacher, he’s taught over 1,500 yoga classes. In the process, he’s teaching more than yoga poses; he’s encouraging people to accept their imperfections, be kind to themselves and be kind to others.
Herbie became emotional when he described the time his dad, Bill Floyd, took one of his yoga classes. During “savasana,” typically the last pose of a yoga session, his dad broke down sobbing. “I think it was the first time since I’d dropped out of college that he knew I would be okay. He became really proud of the person I came to be, of the man I am.”
In addition to finding his niche in yoga, Herbie’s quest for self-discovery after leaving college has included working as a strength and conditioning coach, a mental and physical athletic trainer, a junior varsity football coach and a financial planning assistant.
He is currently pursuing a double major in psychology and finance at the Boston University Metropolitan College, where he’s compiled a 3.66 grade point average. He will graduate in a year.
Herbie credits his mom, Heather Holmes, for showing him how kindness can change lives. But he, himself, deserves the credit for having the courage to step off life’s treadmill and take the time to find himself.
Herbie’s favorite quotes should come as no surprise to those who know him. “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (Maya Angelou) and “A society grows great when old men plant trees, the shade of which they know they shall never sit in.” (Greek proverb)
In a nation where millions of Americans worship a bullying former president who espouses hate and foments division, it is so refreshing to know a young man who is driven by kinship and kindness. At a time when we’re constantly exhorted to “buy, buy, buy” it is such a relief to hear a voice saying “love, love, love.”
Herbie isn’t sure what career path he’ll take after he graduates from Boston University next spring. But I am confident that he will plant many trees and make many people feel better about themselves wherever that path leads.
David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future Just a Little Old columns. dtreadw575@aol.com.
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