You Wish To Do Something. If Not Now, When?
Marguerite Theophil
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So many of us spend a ridiculous amount of time just worrying about how terrible things are in the world these days. If only we could convert that vast amount of worry into action! To be fair, many are not quite sure what they can do, others feel that their small efforts won't amount to much though `small efforts' are still way ahead of doing nothing. There are others who declare: i'll do this or that `when i retire'. Really? While there are numerous older people who actively engage in activities for the larger good, most of them began in `small' ways when they were a lot younger.A great idea from people with passion is catching on. There are many of them i know but two now come to mind: From a simple idea, noticing vast amounts of cloth and other materials lying unused in India's urban households, while many rural poor die because they do not have enough clothing, Anshu Gupta founded an NGO which is now a movement working in 21 states. Through its staff, volunteers, and partner organisations, it redistributes contributed items, and processes materials into essential articles like rugs, blankets, mattresses and most touchingly cloth sanitary pads, as a hygienic alternative to the unclean rags that less privileged girls and women often are forced to use.
Rushab Turakhia spearheads a movement to not just spread kindness but make it a way of life. The idea is that s when you do an act of kindness, instead of accepting a simple `thank you' you give the person a YTN card (`your turn now'), encouraging that person to pass on the kindness to some one else in need. A simple idea, but one that has spread to over 32 countries.
Genuine service should dissolve the notion of doing good for only `people like us'. Our proclaimed inclusivity is most nobly expressed when we reach out to those we tend to label as the `other'.
Hundreds of impoverished Palestinian herders and farmers living in caves and tents in a remote area of the Palestinian West Bank, denied basic amenities by the govern ment, have been provided free electricity due to the ingenuity of two Israeli physicists, Elad Orian and Noam Dotan, both pro-peace activists who despite obstacles and opposition have d a high-grid wind and solar system free of charge for them.
We have read, heard and believed that apathy is really the more destructive force; more terrible at times than outright hate. To believe something is wrong and do nothing about it is considered in many traditions a `sin' or something that goes against the higher teachings.
As Hillel, renowned Judaic sage and scholar, urges us in this powerful message: “If I am not for myself who is for me? And, being only for my own self, what am `I'?“ And then, significantly: “And if not now, when?“ Whatever age we are, there is much we can do, either starting something on our own or supporting the work of others. There are no real valid excuses to side-step this i read of a paraplegic man helping at-risk youth in his community , who said that he was formerly able to do 1,000 things. Now he can do 50. So his focus is on the 50 things he can do, not on the things he cannot.
Rushab Turakhia spearheads a movement to not just spread kindness but make it a way of life. The idea is that s when you do an act of kindness, instead of accepting a simple `thank you' you give the person a YTN card (`your turn now'), encouraging that person to pass on the kindness to some one else in need. A simple idea, but one that has spread to over 32 countries.
Genuine service should dissolve the notion of doing good for only `people like us'. Our proclaimed inclusivity is most nobly expressed when we reach out to those we tend to label as the `other'.
Hundreds of impoverished Palestinian herders and farmers living in caves and tents in a remote area of the Palestinian West Bank, denied basic amenities by the govern ment, have been provided free electricity due to the ingenuity of two Israeli physicists, Elad Orian and Noam Dotan, both pro-peace activists who despite obstacles and opposition have d a high-grid wind and solar system free of charge for them.
We have read, heard and believed that apathy is really the more destructive force; more terrible at times than outright hate. To believe something is wrong and do nothing about it is considered in many traditions a `sin' or something that goes against the higher teachings.
As Hillel, renowned Judaic sage and scholar, urges us in this powerful message: “If I am not for myself who is for me? And, being only for my own self, what am `I'?“ And then, significantly: “And if not now, when?“ Whatever age we are, there is much we can do, either starting something on our own or supporting the work of others. There are no real valid excuses to side-step this i read of a paraplegic man helping at-risk youth in his community , who said that he was formerly able to do 1,000 things. Now he can do 50. So his focus is on the 50 things he can do, not on the things he cannot.
