Making an Impact

[GliderGuider]

I recently received an email promoting a Huffpo article advising us, yet again, how we might best "Make an Impact on the World." And that got me thinking, which of course is a daily hazard for me. Here's what came up:

The topic of "making an impact" has been on my mind a lot lately. It occurs to me that our desire or need to "make an impact on the world" is precisely the reason we're all in this unfillable hole.

There are seven billion people on the planet, each with an ego-driven desperation to prove their existence, to proclaim the indisputable fact that they have an inside track on the Truth, to show they are smarter/more insightful/wiser/stronger than the average bear, to paper over their fear of death, or whatever other dark needs they wrestle with at 3:00 a.m. All of them are frantically beavering away to "make an impact on the world".

Well, it appears to have worked.

But how well is "making an impact" working out for us? Or for all the other life forms that share this verdant globe, but who don't share the "luxury" of our combination of self-awareness, egos and opposable thumbs?

Perhaps it's time to try something different.

I recommend adopting this as a mantra: "Don't just do something - sit there!"

Stillness has an awful lot to recommend it, I find. Not least is the chance to discover who we really are, below all those layers of programmed needs and fears. We may even find that we don't really need to "make an impact" to feel at home in our own skins. What a delightful, restful, harmonious idea.

[raouldukelives]

1. All depends on what kind of impact you want to have.

Or that is to say, what your definition of a positive impact is. For me, like many of us, I wish to have an impact that doesn't leave a mark. Even better, I'd like to think my impact will be a positive one. It's a tall order. I've been driving an avg. of at least 10,000 miles a year for the last 24 years. In small, 4 cylinders but still, not good. I spent a small amount of time working for corporations so I wound up supporting Wall St for a few years, also a large net negative.
On the plus side I had no investments with them prior or after other than my sweat to assist them in increasing climate change, obfuscate the science or Citizens United.
I have used my bicycle as a means of transport since the early 90's. Shopped and supported locally, canvassed and marched to protect natural resources, grow quite a bit of food each year, plant trees, don't own a cell phone, don't have television and recycle as much as possible.
I don't know how much time left I have on the planet but I hope when it is all said and done that I can at least say I didn't make it worse for people or critters and with a lot of luck, possibly made it a bit better than it would have been without me.
For me, not making an impact that harms the animals and the forests I love is the greatest impact I can have.

[GliderGuider]

2. Exactly so.

[AverageJoe90]

8. And you are making a more positive impact than you may realize.

There is a growing awareness about just how serious the problem truly is, and even the Koch Bros. can't stop that. We keep fighting like we have been, and keep upping the ante, and we will win.

[tinrobot]

3. Very wise.

I keep thinking the best way to heal the planet is to do less, not more.

I have a few friends who buy every "green" product they come across, thinking they're doing good. I hesitate to tell these kind hearted souls that buying absolutely nothing is the best way to do good. Eat simply, consume less, be content with yourself rather than seeking distractions. It's a tough message to communicate in a world filled with consumer goods and other distractions.

[AverageJoe90]

7. It IS a noble idea, but.....

Eating simply and cutting down on consumption is, quite frankly, a good thing, but by itself, or with the wrong mindset(e.g. "We can't do anything about climate change, humanity is doomed to extinction, etc.), will not be sufficient.

[RobertEarl]

4. But that is anti-growth

We must grow the economy by buying and consuming. And making waste - garbage men have to eat, too.

What you are suggesting seems to me to be the way at least the other half the world actually lives. And our half can kick their ass any time we want and that's 'King of the Hill' material there which is what makes us great!

We shall reap our rewards, you can bet on that.

[GliderGuider]

5. You bet it's anti-growth.

And yes, I think that our boots can kick their asses. For a while.

The thing is, in the end this isn't about "us vs. them" - it's about us vs. Mother Nature. And boy, can that old gal kick back. I hear she doesn't have much of a sense of humour either...

[stuntcat]

6. we aren't sitting still though, even if we try to!

We're whizzing through space at a fantastic incredible speed!!! This little planet with an atmosphere and oceans, and a destructive self-aware species who's so smart it could wipe itself out.

I've been thinking over and over every day of how fast I'm going, on a tiny tragic cell waiting for someone to squash us all out lol. It's strange but the more I think of this the easier it is to sit here

[AverageJoe90]

9. I agree with some of what you've said.

But unfortunately, I must point out that many people (wrongly) believing that climate change can't be mitigated, solved, whatever, has been the mantra that's made a significant contribution to the horribly deep hole we find ourselves in, and not the fight for making an impact. Just remember, the DDT & CFC bans didn't get passed because of still inaction. And neither did certain other important laws, in all subjects, such as Civil Rights and labor protection laws.