Be What the World Needs
“Where’s
my opportunity to be what the world needs?”
John
Pavlovitz (Hope and Other Superpowers)
It’s
easy, at least for me, to feel so overwhelmed by the needs of the world, that I’m
stopped from doing anything. But, fellow progressive Christian, John Pavlovitz,
isn’t asking us to single-handedly be what the world needs. He’s suggesting
instead that we evaluate our skills and abilities and do what is within our
power. I know so many people who have worked tirelessly during this election
cycle, from writing postcards to voters, to working the polls on election day. People
have stepped up on both sides of the political aisle and given of themselves
for the greater good. That is what the world needs.
We are
in the second wave of a viral pandemic. There may be an end in sight; a vaccine
is in the final stages of human trials and looking positive. In the meantime,
we can continue three simple remedies—wear a mask, wash hands a lot, and stay 6
feet away from other people. Simple. And that’s what the world needs from us.
We know
that people have lost jobs, lost housing, and need food. We know this because
the community foodbanks are maxed out and begging for help. For some of us—myself
included—food has never been a struggle to find. Being able to afford food has
sometimes been tight, but never out of reach. So, it may be hard to believe that
there are people all around us who do not have enough to eat, or who have to be
very deliberate in choosing what to pay for this week—food or rent or medicine.
Since this does not affect me, I easily forget. So, what I do is make a
small monthly donation to the community food bank. It’s a small sacrifice and
it’s what the world needs right now.
One of
my greatest worries is climate change. Maybe that is because I’ve been alive
long enough to feel and see the changes, or because I live in the deep south
and have seen the escalating number of massive storms coming ashore, washing
away entire communities. I have noticed how many fewer birds are in the great
migrations, and how few amphibians there are compared to what I saw just twenty
years ago. Maybe it’s because I now celebrate when I see a butterfly or
fireflies rather than simply take them for granted as a summer phenomenon.
Whatever the reason, I know I need to use less and save more, keep the clothes
I have instead of shopping a lot, recycle what I can, grow some of my own food,
and plant trees. These are things I can do, and they are what the world needs.
I am
not a scientist, nor am I an avid hiker or climber, but I love the outdoors
enough to know that growing things thrive in diversity. Providing for that
ideal environment means that I don’t pour herbicides and pesticides on my lawn,
even though it hurts the “curb appeal” of my house. I don’t cut down the trees
unless they are dead. I don’t think more about having a manicured lawn than I
do about what feeds the birds and squirrels and other wildlife that live all
around me. I don’t want to hear on the news that we have lost another species.
The world needs every beetle and toad and lizard, and I can help with that in
this tiny section of the world that belongs to me.
None of
us has superpowers. But we have small powers that make tiny contributions to
the smooth operation of the planet. And all those small powers add up to
something close to super. We cannot accomplish massive feats, but we can grab
small opportunities to be what the world needs. If I do my part, and you do
yours, who knows what the possibilities may be.
In
the Spirit,
1 comment:
Very well put Jane. None of us can change the world, but we can each make a contribution.
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