My son was on a baseball team. He was the pitcher. The ball was hit, and it went straight into the zone behind first base. The ball was high in the air and dropped a few feet from the teen who was covering that zone. The teen didn’t move. He looked to see who else would run after the ball. Runner made it to first base. The baseball coach called out, “If not you, then who?”
That stuck with me in relation to life. Some things get hit into our zone, and if we don’t do something about it… Well, if not you, then who?
We all have our roles. We all have our own skills, abilities and/or interests in how we want to help out our community.
I don’t need to be good at everything. I just need to be able to contribute something.
We all can’t be doing the same thing. We don’t need to be doing the same thing. We need to diversify. We all can’t be defence or goalie. That wouldn’t work. We’d have missing zones not covered.
If you are wondering if you have something to contribute to your community, the answer is yes. Now it’s just figuring out what role you want to play and how best to use your interests and talents.
It doesn’t need to be this grandiose goal.
Some people get so much joy out of knitting hats for newborns. They have a passion for knitting, and they get to spread their talent and put their interest to good use.
It’s incredible how small projects can spread. Things start local and ideas catch on, and before you know it, it spreads across the country.
Do you see a gap where people are experiencing harm that you may be able to help with?
We all don’t need to be organizing a protest or joining a board. But I do encourage people to self-reflect, and it is worth the effort to just think about how you may be able to lend a piece of yourself.
There are people who like to do loud advocacy and others who like to do quiet advocacy.
One person cannot solve all of the problems in the world, and no one is expecting you to. But if we all did a little something to help in our corner of the world, it would go a long way.
If you find something that you enjoy or are doing advocacy with other people who you enjoy being with, then your mental health will benefit you and others. Systemic advocacy doesn’t need to be torturous. You are allowed to actually enjoy it. Suffering is not required.
What do you think would be a good fit for you?
“Action is the antidote to despair” – Joan Baez