Today is the Summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and I am thinking about change.
Change in how you look at a deer is part of this. But also news, other blog posts: How do you change bad habits, how do you change what you do, how you care?
There is a huge feeling that Change may well be a good thing but ... but what are you willing to give up, to do to make that change happen? Probably not much. Oh, you will do the easy stuff, that doesn't really impact your life but gives you that little glow of Do-Gooder. Like recycling your glass (but only if your council comes & picks it up, or there is a convenient bottle bank).
On the other hand there are things that would really impact you personally that you may well say 'Well, I am going to choose to do what I want but feel that other's shouldn't make the same choice as if we all do the same thing that will be bad'. So we have increasing measles etc because fewer parents are comfortable with the MMR jab, thus reducing the herd immunity. So we have places in India where there are just 300 girls to every 1,000 boys among higher caste families. Oh, the last is illegal, of course. And contrasts with the previous quite nicely.
For an individual it is so easy to think you are doing only a little bad, a little damage. It isn't so important per person is it? but when it ads up....
What is a penny or cent worth? Not a lot. Anyone think of something you can buy with 1p or 1c?
...didn't think so.
How about if you scraped together 50? 700? Can you buy a couple of coffee's from Starbucks, with maybe a slice of something, and change for the tip jar? Or would you walk to the market, buy some own brand cheap stuff, and feed your family for another couple of days? Or buy organic fair trade stuff?
How about voting? about as useless some say as a penny. But if you have 700 you could tip the balance in an election, if you have 70,000 you could really change things....
Until you realise a lot of people are in favour of change for other people, but only want their own lives to get better, or at least not worse. Or that you are herding cats as everyone considers different things important and you are trying desperately to convince people that everyone needs to move in the same direction vaguely for society to have a chance at improving things.
How easy is it to recognise that what you want isn't what the world needs? That you may well be a unique snowflake but that you are just one amongst millions?
How do you inspire a desire for change?
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