There are many ladders to climb and many problems to tackle
Knowing Where To Look
Proof that people are good is all around if you know where to look. With so many troubles facing society, it is easy to forget there is much to celebrate.
Though trained in psychology, I didn’t pursue a career in mental health. Counselors spend days with people who are sad, lonely, and confused. I empathized with them feeling their pain and wasn’t able to divorce myself from their problems. Carrying their misery I forgot there was a happy side to life.
I left the profession to be surrounded by positive thinkers. I sought out those who had dreams and passions. They were doers who overcame hurdles with hard work and open-minded thinking. Many had gone to counselors, but they fought to overcome their difficulties. I became associated with compassionate people who lived productive, engaged lives. When I looked behind my own interests to find what inspired them, my world expanded tenfold, and I shared in their excitement.
At my catalog company, we gave PRIDE awards to employees who contributed above and beyond their job descriptions. Focusing attention on small acts of kindness and collaboration rather than on mistakes made the organization flourish.
Individual Deeds:
Look around and you will find an abundance of people engage in doing good. Recognizing their decency is a way to keep from being drawn into a quagmire of despair and hopelessness. Their actions are uplifting and an inspiration to others. Following are examples from my life and from those I read about recently on MSN, FOX NEWS, HuffPost, USA Today, Good News Network, and Sunny Skyz.
Last week a busy physician came cross-country to visit a friend recently diagnosed with Leukemia. Their weekend was spent in laughter and answering his medical questions. The man left his friend better able to face an uncertain future.
On August 3rd an Israeli woman donated her kidney to a 3-year-old Palestinian boy.
Instead of issuing tickets for broken headlights, the Denver police are handing out gift cards to get them fixed.
A man set up a camera inside a bird box and attracted 41 million fans worldwide. He was overwhelmed to discover how many bird enthusiasts there are in the world.
Two Boy Scouts rescued a drowning woman from Missouri Floodwaters, and in British Columbia, a woman trained as a lifeguard 20 years ago, kept a family of three from drowning by jumping in the lake to tow them closer to shore. Onlookers made a human chain and reached out by grabbing her arm and pulling her and the family close enough to get a foothold.
A woman with special needs wanted to be a cook, so Jordyn’s Deli in Falling Waters West Virginia made it happen. “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade,” the owner said. “ And when one of your best employees comes to you and says that in spite of all obstacles, they want to be a cook. . . you find a way to make it happen.”
My granddaughter had the wedding of her dreams a year after it was postponed because of the pandemic. It was held outside for vaccinated guests and those testing negative for covid. Afterward, her mother looked like she could sleep for a week and hopefully did, but the pleasure she and her husband gave our family after being separated for 18 months was a gift we will always treasure.
Sam Schmidt, a race car driver paralyzed in 2000, stood and took his first steps due to new technology from Arrow Electronics. As a positive thinker, he discovered a high-tech vehicle that enabled him to compete in races again.
Group Deeds:
There are times when it takes a group to bring about a change that benefits society. Because of efforts by international governments, scientists, and health organizations, as of August 7th, at least 4.4 billion shots of the Covid vaccine have been administered worldwide (15.3% fully vaccinated) In the U.S.166 Million are fully vaccinated (50.5% of the population). We have more to go, but look how far we have come.
People put their lives at risk to do what they believe is right for society. The Black Lives Matter movement has already created a generational shift, with 65 percent of those under thirty-five supporting the movement. Protests in the United States are escalating to overturn state laws that limit voting rights laws and threaten the foundation of our democracy. Greenpeace organizes ongoing boat interventions in the Antarctic to protect the whales.
Over the past year, COVID-19 itself played a role in protecting ocean wildlife. Humpback whales became happy when tourism came to a near-halt and 13 million people visiting Alaska on cruise ships stayed away. Researchers at Glacier Bay National Park hear gurgling and bubbling water sounds that haven’t been heard for years. The happy whales spread out across larger swathes of the bay, mothers leave their calves to play while they swim out to feed, and the songs they sing are more varied.
A group calling themselves the Cruise Control got organized in 2020 to gather signatures for a ballot measure to limit the times and sizes of visiting cruise ships when the pandemic subsides. The drive failed because the business community fought it, but it is not over. “Though tourism is good for the economy, it’s not good if the whales feel too much pressure and leave,” Cruise Control says.
The power of group action was evident when the Supreme Court, with its conservative majority, voted in June to expand employment protections to gender identity and sexual orientation. Old ways of thinking had dissolved and the culture shifted to embrace the LBGTQ community.
Most people want to be fair and try to do what is right. Some innovations, like dams, seemed good at the time it electrified the country. Now we know they kill the fish, destroy cities and farmland, and divert water needed for crops and other living organisms. Dams are being taken down as we find other ways to electrify our towns.
With population increasing, it is time to reimagine the way energy, agriculture, trade, property, communication, and water are managed. Privacy laws, individual rights, and the limits of capitalism, socialism, and democracy ave to be reimagined. The troubles we have will only be solved by banding together and lobbying for solutions that benefit all.
Younger generations will have a great many problems to solve. There are interesting challenges that will be exciting for citizens with a good heart to tackle. Knowing where to look and taking action is the antidote to despair, making life worthwhile. And, for those of us who are elders, we are also being challenged to help youth find their way.
References:
Tufekci,Z ( 2020) Do Protests Work? The Atlantic. retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/06/why-protests-work/613420/
Zurcher,A. (2021) Why whales in Alaska have been so happy, BBC News. retrieved from
