My Wish For The World
I'm sure most of you know about the massive earthquake that happened in Haiti. If you don't, you should probably read the news a bit more often. Really, this is big.
Some of us knew Haiti was in trouble before the earthquake. We knew that there was a poverty rate of 80% and that it is the nation in the worst shape in the Western Hemisphere. We knew that the humanitarian situation in the nation was deplorable and that there was virtually no way out or up. Now the world is aware, because of an earthquake. This earthquake brought havoc upon the tiny island of Hispanola. The images brought forth by media and other humanitarian workers on the island are those of heartache and disaster. In the midst of it all, there is still happiness. Somehow these people, despite their great misfortune, are binding together and finding as much happiness as they can in singing, new life and finding loved ones.
This got me thinking. I started thinking about my research and about all the things I have seen and heard through the years. I thought about the possible reasons why we don't realize the extremity of a situation until it is dire. Why do we not realize that difficulty and trouble exists before it becomes tragic? This same anomaly occurred when the levees burst in New Orleans. We knew they had a hard time down there and we knew that the levees were not stable. It took a hurricane for something to change. Why is it that we continue to be reactive instead of proactive when it comes to humanitarian work, but when it comes to oil and money we are more proactive than we could ever imagine?
My wish for this world is that we begin being more proactive instead of reactive when it comes to people. That we realize it is more about others than ourselves, because when we make it about others, we get a better return on that than we could ever imagine. I wish that we realize that it's not about condemning but about accepting differences and figuring out how to work with and through them. I wish that this world continues to support its people as it does during natural disasters, but also does so every other day of the year.
I don't do good deeds to get recognition. I do good deeds because it's what you do. Because it's what I was raised to do. If the rest of the world responded that way, I'm pretty sure it would be a better place to live.
Some of us knew Haiti was in trouble before the earthquake. We knew that there was a poverty rate of 80% and that it is the nation in the worst shape in the Western Hemisphere. We knew that the humanitarian situation in the nation was deplorable and that there was virtually no way out or up. Now the world is aware, because of an earthquake. This earthquake brought havoc upon the tiny island of Hispanola. The images brought forth by media and other humanitarian workers on the island are those of heartache and disaster. In the midst of it all, there is still happiness. Somehow these people, despite their great misfortune, are binding together and finding as much happiness as they can in singing, new life and finding loved ones.
This got me thinking. I started thinking about my research and about all the things I have seen and heard through the years. I thought about the possible reasons why we don't realize the extremity of a situation until it is dire. Why do we not realize that difficulty and trouble exists before it becomes tragic? This same anomaly occurred when the levees burst in New Orleans. We knew they had a hard time down there and we knew that the levees were not stable. It took a hurricane for something to change. Why is it that we continue to be reactive instead of proactive when it comes to humanitarian work, but when it comes to oil and money we are more proactive than we could ever imagine?
My wish for this world is that we begin being more proactive instead of reactive when it comes to people. That we realize it is more about others than ourselves, because when we make it about others, we get a better return on that than we could ever imagine. I wish that we realize that it's not about condemning but about accepting differences and figuring out how to work with and through them. I wish that this world continues to support its people as it does during natural disasters, but also does so every other day of the year.
I don't do good deeds to get recognition. I do good deeds because it's what you do. Because it's what I was raised to do. If the rest of the world responded that way, I'm pretty sure it would be a better place to live.
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