I am only one
“I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something
that I can do.”
Edward Everett Holt
What can you do that you have not done because it feels like your contribution could not possibly be enough to make a difference, could not possibly be good enough or significant enough to matter in the grand scheme of things? What are you not doing that you could do?
I came across this quote today and I intend to spend some time tonight meditating on the subject - I know that I am very guilty of not doing - and I’d like to change. How about you?
Edited to add: Re-read that and realized it sounded awfully negative, like I had very little faith in my readership. So…. what ARE you doing? What have you done? What little steps have you taken by your very own self that have made a difference, that will make a difference? How do you keep yourself motivated and determined? What is your ’something that I can do’? Are you doing it? If not, what steps do you need to take so that you are?
I’m guilty of not voting, of not vounteering time for charities, of not donating money. I’m guilty of learning about injustice and atrocity in our world and feeling completely overwhelmed with the feeling that I couldn’t possibly make a difference…so, instead, I do nothing.
This is complacency…
Comment by Leigh — 05.15.06 @ 1:21:00
I cannot do much right now because I am keeping my head above water with my small kids. But what I can do is raise my children to be good, kind people in this world. I have also (not perfectly but good enough) broken the cycle of abuse that my family has lived with for many generations. My kids are growing up free of that and hopefully so will my grandchildren.
Comment by Darshani — 05.15.06 @ 3:45:18
I am very proud that I wrote an email to my legislators when I was angry that a mom was asked not to nurse at a public pool. It was one of those legislators that was our behind the scenes champion of the bill we got passed in our state. Writing that email was a first and seemingly small step, but launched so many steps that eventually lead to something great.
Comment by Karen — 05.15.06 @ 4:44:40
Hmmm, what do I do? I yammer on about babywearing, cloth diapering and natural birth to anyone who will listen. As a previous commenter said, I’ve also worked extremely hard to become a different kind of parent to my child, so I don’t pass down the legacy of insanity in my family. I donate money to charities (mostly environmental, also the ACLU and Union of Concerned Scientists), but it never seems like enough. I also get mad when they spend my money on weekly mailings asking me for more fricking money.
What don’t I do? I feel totally overwhelmed and paralyzed by the state of politics in our nation, so I don’t get involved other than voting and occasionally donating money to a campaign. Sometimes get burned by that, as I donated to (Democrat!) Bob Casey’s campaign in PA, hoping he’ll beat Rick Santorum, only to find out he’s anti-abortion!
I drive my car everywhere (a necessary evil where we live). It gets 25-30 mpg, but not as good as a hybrid. DH has mumbled about buying a diesel and converting to biodiesel, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
We need to refinish our deck and deck furniture, and I dutifully bookmarked a bunch of sites on environmentally friendly stains, but got too overwhelmed, and just can’t shake the feeling that they won’t perform as well as the nasty stuff. So we’re going with the nasty stuff.
I recycle like crazy, and try to choose purchases to minimize packaging as much as possible, but I’m still setting garbage out at the curb every week.
I don’t compost.
Most of my “don’ts” come from lack of energy, drive, wherewithal or time. Except for politics, I typically do believe that one person can make a difference. I don’t know what I believe about politics. I just know it makes my head hurt.
Comment by S — 05.18.06 @ 9:01:37
I buy organic. I volunteer with LLL. I use cloth diapers. That’s it for now.
Comment by Piglet68 — 05.19.06 @ 9:40:49