Some days I question my ability to have a true impact on the world. The world is so big. There are so many issues. I am just one person. For every small act that I attempt, there are millions more that need doing in this world. If you really think about the hugeness of the issues and our world and the smallness of who we are, it can be very overwhelming.
Pandamonium is upon us! The chatter at the kwoon about the charities has really picked up over the past week or so. Great charities doing great work all over the world. The conversations and the growth opportunities are fantastic to watch and be a part of.
In my own life, I try to give - especially my time whenever I can. I try to raise my kids to see the needs in the world and try to figure out how or what they can do to make a difference. Really my kids are awesome! They volunteer and serve others. They forgo gifts so that others may receive. They can't remember a birthday party where the gift giving focus has been on themselves. Their hearts bleed for others. They inspire me.
Then we start to take our passions outside the kwoon, and that's when the going gets tough. We knock on doors and we get that "you again" look. We try to chat up family about the charities and they just want to know who to write the cheque to. The apathy in the world is staggering.
The apathy makes my passion seem small yet we have to keep doing what we can for those who cannot do for themselves. Honestly, I find this time of year very discouraging. The people in our kung fu family are so amazing and filled with empathy that it really highlights the difference from many out in the rest of the world.
I do feel small. I wonder how much impact I can have on the world.
That was the majority of my lament. I just couldn't figure out how to finish it off. Then the events in Fort Mac hit last night. I watched the footage with my husband of the fires out of control right in town. Fires that were cutting off the only road in and out of a remote community. A community under full evacuation orders but in many cases no way to head south. Many had to head north cut off from everyone by one highway. Chad has spent a great deal of time working up there. We have friends who continue to work up there. This situation is very personal.
Today I sit here with a different perspective, funny what a difference a day makes. I am waiting for our first evacuated house guest to arrive. I watch the response of the people in Alberta to this situation. Everyone is scrambling to find something, anything that they can do. People do NOT lack empathy - they just need a spark to light under them.
I do still feel small. Today though I realize that we are all small but if enough of us small people care enough about something, then huge things can happen. That makes me think of the Lorax, so I will leave you with a famous Dr. Suess quote:
UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
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