My mother-in-law asked me to provide a list of accomplishments this year for her annual newsletter. As I thought about that request I realized that I have NO accomplishments for 2007, and I was sort of glum about that.
But this has been a great year of learning. I am learning to be content with what I have. I am also learning to be thankful and grateful for what I have. I am particularly grateful for my family and friends. I am blessed with friends who have mentored me and shared their wisdom this year, and helped me get a little higher up the learning curve.
I am especially thankful for one new friend I met this year, who has inspired and educated me. This friend has taught me that as an activist, I need to remember the importance of love and gentleness in my work. This is hard to do because sometimes I am frustrated by the denseness and indifference of my ideological opponents.
The following passage was written by my friend. This wisdom has served as a guiding light, and hopefully it will continue to guide me for many years to come.
From my friend (slightly edited):
... You once asked me what you should focus on... and I have been thinking about that ... may I respectfully suggest that you continue to educate the "masses," as many people as possible ... and focus on fine tuning the style of that education (re: population, environment, etc.). You know there is something that I have learned not too long ago ... leading with GENTLENESS. In order for people to hear you, you need to be "gentle" with them so as to win their (for lack of a better word) heart and soul. In fact, this is one of the skills I try to apply everyday at my work. Everyday I have to lead/provide ideas to resolve our humongous amount of problems and issues (some of which keep me up awake at night) and everyday I practice this very simple principle "leading with gentleness, reaching out and winning the other person's heart and soul," presenting ones ideas with the utmost sincere intent for the greater benefit. And you know what? After a period of time of doing this, I have gained a lot of friends and have gained a lot of people's trust in me.
This is what I suggest to everyone ... continue to educate with kindness, gentleness, caring ... and when the time is right for that person, that person will act or respond to it ... i.e., in the end it is up to any one and everyone's free will of choice and of choice to act or do something about anything.
We need to acknowledge and respect people's constraints. To condemn them for not behaving environmentally or ecologically responsibly, or whatever word one wants to use, is not going to get what anyone who is trying to get them to a destination or end result get there. In fact, it will backfire and have the very opposite effect.
We live on a blue marble flying through space. I'm surprised at how many people forget that. Our species and ecosystem are fragile, yet we are systematically destroying it instead of protecting it. This blog is dedicated to environmentalism and sustainability
1 comment:
Goose, Thanks for visiting my blog. After reading a few of your posts, I have to say I think that we have very different viewpoints of the world, but I can respect your opinions nonetheless. I agree with the end result of caring for and preserving our Earth, and using our resources wisely.
Thanks for this post in particular. I agree with that letter, and I need to be reminded sometimes of the importance of gentleness, as I am someone who just likes to be blunt and have things told to me bluntly. But many if not most people don't respond well to that approach.
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