“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
– Mark Twain
Dear reader,
This story has come to its end. Or has it? Why have I told of all these scenes of pain and distress, and perhaps aroused painful emotions in my readers? Why have I lingered with seeming complacency over lamentable pictures, tracing their details with what may appear desperate fidelity?
It is a natural question. Perhaps I might answer it by another:
Would it not be possible, in these times of great material wealth yet of immense social fragmentation, to dedicate, each and every one of us, a few hours of our precious time every week for the purpose of helping those around us overcome their fears, their suffering and their hopelessness. Is there any other way to overcome our own quest for meaning?
As these stories retell, most of us do not have it easy. Because in many parts of the world it is so hard to get an honest job, put a decent meal on the table and maintain the faith that tomorrow will be better than today. Like the father trying to get his ambitious son to leave that gang that has finally gained him the respect that only weapons can buy. Or the mother who will be forced to take on a second shift as a cleaner in a lousy job across town, even if it means she barely sees her daughter who means everything to her. These and many others who share that constant fear that their world will collapse, because of a bullet, a foreclosure or a germ.
Could we not do something to help those desperate folks in faraway lands?
Here lies the irony, and perhaps a message from these stories.
The people we are best positioned to help are not always those we think of, or that our hyper-connected media tells us we should care about. It may not be those starving families, continents away, getting their unwanted thirty seconds of fame on the evening newsflash. It may not be the humble cleaner with her worn out shirt and soles, saving every cent to get her daughter through school and maybe someday even to university. Not that they couldn’t use a friendly hand. Just that the friendliest hands belong to their friends and family, not strangers from another world looking for that warm humanitarian glow that a check provides at such little effort.
So look instead around you. In our delusions of modernity, we have somehow come to believe that technology will one day eradicate poverty and allow every one of us to have a well-stocked fridge, a nice piece of steak in every plate and a car for every member of the family. Never before has the lifestyle of the wealthy been so constantly advertised, as if it were something we should all be aspiring to. Their aspirations and dreams feel so familiar, so close, that it often seems that the ideal life is only a little hard work and a lucky shot away, even if it means stepping on a few toes or a few lives on the way up.
This race to the top is the real untold story of the 21st century, the one right in front of our eyes but that we refuse to see. The story of neighbors struggling for the fancier house, the bigger car or the more exotic destination. It is the story of double incomes, double shifts and 60-hour weeks. The story of dead end jobs that pay the bills but kill our sense of purpose. The story of fading relationships as the career promotion gets closer. The story of tired parents and lonely kids. The story of waking up to one’s life wondering where all those years went by…
Who still has the time, the energy or the interest to join the neighborhood development committee or volunteer for the animal shelter down the street? The ultimate sentence may not be to die at a young age from a treatable condition when medical care is unaffordable, surrounded only by one’s family. It may be instead to awake to one’s birthday in a cozy retirement home and realize that even the nurse forgot to wish you well. To realize that one’s children and grand-children are too busy racing to the top, focused, looking upwards always.
It doesn’t need to be this way. Get off the ladder of success, forget about that job promotion that will probably make your life more miserable. Focus instead on those memories that you will cherish. Find a job that allows you to make a difference, or at least gives you the time to make a difference outside of work. And then start small, always with those closest to you. Hold the hand of the sick friend in the hospital, hug your elderly mother on her birthday, on your birthday, on any birthday. Remember, at some point in your life you too will be sick, grieving, jobless or lonely.
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“If only we knew where to start” – such used to be the most common excuse…
Compassion and collective action is in our DNA. All research agree, even in the age of smartphones and conspicuous consumption, today’s youngsters still care – just as their forefathers, they too want to make their world a better place. Except that now they realize the urgency that is before them.
This story is really an appeal to the new generation, of smartphones and global perspectives, with a willingness to change the world and the tools to do so. Never before have governments around the world been so accountable to their citizens, at least on paper. Never before have we been one click away from networking and advocating on a topic that is close to one’s heart, whether to denounce corrupt municipal practices or launch a neighborhood movement to welcome migrants fleeing misery. In this era of information, power relations have changed and hierarchies no longer serve the purpose of channeling and filtering information. The leaders of local grassroots organizations are reaching out directly to Government Ministers to discuss land tenure and flood mitigation actions; committed CEOs are sitting with local youth groups designing and implementing urban renewal projects; researchers and illiterate residents work side by side to map out risks and community early warning systems. We have reached this particular point in history where we have both the technology to show what is needed where, and the material resources that could address those very basic needs. The real question is whether our information-overflow, resource-rich yet relationship-poor civilization will be able to generate the momentum for a new way of living.
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So this story is really a call to action for the youngsters born in the twenty-first century, and all others who remain young at heart. This generation is different. It may believe, like many others before them, that they can change the world. But this time we really can. Never before have we had the resources to eradicate hunger, malaria and illiteracy. Never before have we been so informed of what is going on around us, whether about the homeless man who sleeps on the sidewalk down the block or the mourning mother risking her life in a faraway land so that others won’t have to live her sorrow.
If you take only one message away from this story, let it be this: dream big, start small and work with others. Alone you will fail. No-one can make it alone – don’t believe what commercials tell you. Find people who share your passion for change, and work together.
Dream big.
Stop for a moment, take a deep look within, reflect on what you want to be remembered for. What keeps you up at night? That poor dog with cigarette burns? The homeless man asking for change? Your lonely grandmother in her retirement home?
You are not the only one with a sense of void, the need for a higher calling. It is a natural side effect of our society’s race to the top, the urge to buy that new car and keep up with the Joneses on your social media account. But you are more than your status update. Whatever your passion may be, you’ll be surprised to see how many others share your real concerns – do something about it!
Start small.
Never underestimate your own power if you commit yourselves to something. You can never know ahead of time what small actions will lead to. As this story tells, a teenager started mapping his street and ended gaining the respect of the neighborhood he grew up in, yet never felt a part of. An influential teacher led her neighborhood in a sit-in in front of the mayor’s house to protest violence, leading the mayor to launch a city coalition in her honor. A banker gave away everything he had worked for his entire career and unknowingly invented a new way of bringing people together. An obscure administrator launched a neighborhood organization to help find a teddy bear that reenergized volunteerism in his city. None of them knew what they were starting, all of them simply knew it was the right thing to do.
So the first step is understanding the power of any small group of committed individuals. Take the issue you (most) care about, start with small actions (actions, not just ‘likes’), show what can be done, build your network and together you will make a difference.
The theory is easy. But our world is not very helpful – yet – for aspiring social entrepreneurs. We constantly having to decide between competing interests – raise funds for a shelter for victims of domestic abuse, or get that iPhone 23? Spend two weeks repainting a school in Haiti, or helping local jobless families in my neighborhood build local contacts and find jobs? Ultimately success will come from having a clear goal and staying the course.
Work with others.
It may seem challenging at first. Start a group or join a group. Agree to solve a clearly stated problem, like bullying, abandoned pets or the loneliness of the elderly. Build your organization, start finding patrons, recruiting volunteers and raising funds.
If it still feels overwhelming, local non-profits or community groups around you offer a good starting point, if only to see how they work. The tools are known and the training is available. There may already be street-level discussions to determine local priorities where you live. Use those groups to meet like-minded individuals. Get to know them, work with them, challenge them. You’ll be amazed to discover how many other people also care about the environment, traffic, domestic violence, discrimination, poverty or pollution.
Maybe you already are part of an organization, however small or large. Then find other groups and you’ll have a network. Join existing platforms and you have a Coalition. Together you will discover new ways of doing and thinking, new opportunities for change.
You will no longer be alone when hard times come. Academics call this “resilience”, others simply call it “shared humanity”, working with amazing people who would otherwise just get in the way of our modern living.
Finally, always remember that your coalition should never become bureaucratic constructs. They are opportunities to share human stories, stories of people you know or that you will get to know. Stories of people who live and feel and fail and suffer. Stories of action, courage, teamwork and redemption. Stories that will be remembered and told with pride. You will make these stories possible, these stories will be your legacy.
Together we are much more than the sum our parts. Join us in this journey, a journey of encounters and shared realities. Where will your Coalition start? What will your legacy be?
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This story is dedicated to my daughter Léa (2009-2011) for teaching me what life is really about.
And to my wife Lorena, for making it worthwhile to carry on.
One Billion Legacies 