I'm sure most of you are well aware of my well honed ability to mull! Lately the facebook cartoon campaign to end violence against children has been on my mind. I find that it is such an interesting concept; particularly insightful are the pockets of negativity that have been directed towards it.
As you read some of the earlier posts, you'll see that I am admittedly an idealist. I recognize that the world's problems won't be solved in a day, but I wholeheartedly believe that a solution is possible. This view makes me hurt when I see people 'complaining' or 'dismissing' people for changing their profile pictures. I know that the small act of switching a profile picture won't immediately improve how children are viewed in society (even though I really wish it could), but I will never dismiss its potential or question the intentions of those who do it.
All movements have had to start somewhere!! I was incredibly impressed how quickly it spread. People who I never expected would 'care' were some of the first to change their profile pictures. We were given a glimpse of how much people care about children -- and now comes the exciting part, leveraging that enthusiasm!! It's not that people are inherently lazy, but infrastructure is needed to support moving passion to action. :) BUT, we mustn't be like "all you suckers who thought you were making a difference by changing your pic need to follow it up with $, time, etc" ... instead let's acknowledge and embrace the first step people make! Not complain that it wasn't big enough!
:) I'm reminded of a quote by Margaret Wheatley "There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about". The discovering process takes time and in today's world maybe a facebook campaign to kick start it! Let's celebrate people caring, becoming engaged, finding their voice!
Lessons for today:
- Embrace people's passions! Assume people are coming from a place of good intentions.
- Celebrate what is! Forget about how you had hoped it would work or what you had expected to happen! Well not completely forget, but gently let it go! Be mindful of the learning opportunities, but don't let it impede your ability to be excited by the beauty of the lessons of the moment.
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Thank you for posting this Shaughnessy! Indeed I think small actions can be effective as well. If you do something with your heart you can change someone else's view.
ReplyDeleteI was criticized for changing my picture, instead of giving money or whatever. Well, i have volunteered with children, but they don't konw that. Besides sometimes we need to go back in time and remember we were children too.
-- Maria Miranda