THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO

Have we all become so complacent and cynical that we don’t believe our actions make a difference? Does any action – volunteering, donating, voting, writing, caring seem meaningless? Have you given up hope in yourself, your family, your community? In 1804, Thomas Jefferson was running to the US President for a 2nd term. A paraphrase of his campaign can be stated in one sentence. ” I believe every American given the opportunity and circumstances will take care of himself, his family, and his community.” I firmly believe that about all of us. Yet in this time, in this place with these people when we should expect miracles, we have become mired in mediocrity and mindlessness (as opposite to mindfulness). If we are all capable and willing then the problem must be the environment where opportunity and circumstances are created that is at fault. Every day we face messaging from big government, big charity, big business that pats us on the head and whispers ” don’t worry, we will take care of that for you.” If it is in their interest they might try to take care of it and mostly fail. Usually they won’t really try because they know we don’t really have very high expectations of their intent. The only think that BG, BC, and BB rely on is that we have bought hook, line and sinker into the supposed convenience they offer. “Don’t worry about homeless, we will do that.” “Don’t fret about spending, we have it under control.” ” Don’t concern yourself about supper, we have peeled and chopped for you.” Unless we begin to resist the convenience, we will soon be incapable of thousands of actions that make our world a better place. You can become involved rather than absolved. What is most important to you? What is the smallest action that you can take today to change/improve the situation? On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), how committed are you to taking this small action? Your words tell us who you think you are, your actions show us who you are. Tell us about what is important to you and your smallest action taken today.

MASQUERADE

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.