Every Action Counts
World Humanitarian Day is this Friday. The theme – People Helping People – has us thinking about what we can do to help ease the torment in the Horn of Africa. The devastation seems overwhelming, almost insurmountable. What good can two guys in Seattle do? It’s discouraging.
And then we remember the power of a simple action and what happened a couple months back.
It was May, things were crazy and the epic blog post we had wanted to publish wasn’t going to happen. We were mega-behind and frustrated that we felt so out of sync with, well, everything. Before leaving most tasks unfinished and racing out the door on our way to Portland, we decided to throw up a quick post. It was an update on Ailess, the girl we sponsor in Zambia. No big deal – so we thought.
We were not prepared for – and (obviously) not in a great space to deal with – what happened next. In Portland, I opened up my laptop to find an avalanche of e-mail waiting. Long story short. Our mini-post on Ailess took off. Somehow, it got a lot of love over on Reddit and ended up with about a thousand “up” votes. So, in an almost cruel twist, we were instantly even further in the weeds.
For the next several days, we were the grand central station of all things child sponsorship. A lot of people wrote, requesting more information and others wrote to tell us about their decision to sponsor a kid. It was heart-warming and perspective-shaping. Our mile long list of tasks was suddenly not important, but these interactions were. We needed this wake up call.
Here’s one of our favorite messages:
This is amazing. I am touched. Seriously, I want to sponsor a child too. Thank you for posting this.
EDIT: I did it! …. sponsoring a child in india. Thank you so much for posting this. Hopefully out of the shitpile that my life is, I can do something good for another life! I’m going to badger all of my friends into sponsoring a child too. We waste so much money on the dumbest crap. Maybe someday I’ll get to visit him and his family.
This whole series of events was a much needed reminder of something that we try to be mindful of. Every action (and interaction) counts. This “truth” is something we’re working on better honoring every day. After all, you can’t be sure of the impact that your words and actions – however small – might have and you certainly never know what’s going to “click” with someone.
It takes a lot of work to navigate life with this mindset. Gravity can tend to pull you towards quick, dispassionate interactions and the negativity that can hang like a dark cloud over society. That’s why we quit watching the news. When a recent visitor wanted to talk about some sensationalized, frivolous “news” story, we had nothing to say because we had no clue what was going on.
So we try – with mixed results – to minimize complaining and to maximize positivity and action. A couple years back, we started and stopped the Complaint Free challenge so many times that it became a running joke. “How many times have I re-started today?” I would say with every reattempt to make it to 21 days.
We’re not afraid to be disruptive and opinionated, but we strive to do so coming from a place of compassion for others and passion for what we believe in. Plus, we aim to never forget how lucky we are to have this life and countless opportunities in a world that’s filled with a lot of pain and unthinkable suffering. We try to remember this every time we think back to the day we left Ailess’s community. All of those hopeful kids waving goodbye.
There’s no room for valueless rants and unproductive negativity. Life is too valuable, too short.
Last month, in Glacier National Park, we had a day that was both awesome and awful. We saw some of the most heart-stopping beauty we had ever seen, and we witnessed the rescue of a hiker in front of us who (as it turned out) fell to his death.
After hearing he had not survived, we wanted to run away – to let out our confused emotions by zipping down the mountain as quickly as we could. Instead, we remembered the One Minute Project post from our pal, Lorna. In it, she asked readers to take a minute to be really thoughtful – to take the time to say something you might not normally say.
So, inspired by that, we waited around a while longer and took the time to sincerely thank, in particular, the three *regular* people who had gone along to help the rescue team. It felt so good to look at the guy from Texas right in the eyes and to say “Dude, that was so brave of you…”
As we prepare to venture up to Alaska in a few days, we do so with the mindset that life is short – we want to move quickly to devour as much as we can while we can. Similarly, we carry with us the belief that mindful movement – living deliberately and being aware of every action – is of paramount importance and should guide our path no matter how briskly we traverse it.
Each of us can only be responsible for the energy that we, individually, put out into the world.
Wondering how you might be able to ease the distress in the Horn of Africa? Check out CARE International. We know from first hand experience that they are an incredible organization, working to defend the dignity of the world’s voiceless.
I think this line from your post will stick with me for a very long time:
“There’s no room for valueless rants and unproductive negativity. Life is too valuable.”
Thanks, Don! That thought was reinforced by the convo we had with you and Chris (on that awesome deck with that incredible view!)
Sooooo you already know this, but you guys are amazing. World changers. And reddit is a great place to help see that shift!
Good for you. And you’re right, every single thing we do, it really does matter. It counts. I’m looking into the Kiva Lending thing now. I really want to tap into that…
Thanks, David – but, really, we just trip through life like everyone else – doing the best we can to be the best we can. It doesn’t always go so well, but we try. We receive a lot of fulfillment and encouragement by having people like you in our corner.
Don stole the words from my keyboard. That was the line I most connected to as well!!
Interesting that that particular point has resonated. We’ve been talking about negativity a lot lately and trying to up our positivity efforts – to put it nicely.
It’s easy to be negative. We want to raise the bar for ourselves and be gentle, kind and compassionate.
You two are so inspiring!! My main goal when I start my travels is to give back, help those in need and be thankful for everyone around me. You live this dream! I can’t wait to learn more. Thanks for inspiring everyday…
Thank you, Meg. I guess we do live that dream, but we do it one step at a time with varying levels of success
A few years back – when we embarked on this life – we knew we wanted to do whatever we could to make the world more hospitable for others.
So… we try… but wish we could do more. It really does help when we think of the power of each small action, each single step.
I think my favorite quote is:
“So we try – with mixed results – to minimize complaining and to maximize positivity and action.”
We all need to try to do that.. whether exploring the world like you guys, or sitting in my cubi-hell dreaming about it.
Keep it up!
Hi, Gene – Love “cubi-hell” – what a great term! I think that will make it in a future post.
I want to hug you. This is brilliant.
Sometimes it seems so impossible to do something to help, that it’s immensely discouraging. I remember a few months ago Pete and I watched a couple of heart breaking documentaries in a row and I wanted to run away screaming, hole myself up in the mountains somewhere and just shut off the terrible world, because I felt so helpless against all the shit that happens in it. We try to do our little bit to help by volunteering when we can, but it is hard not to be shameful for not doing more. It’s thoughts like this…that every action counts, no matter if it feels small at the time…that keeps me (somewhat) sane.
(And no more consecutive documentaries for me anymore either).
We are 100% with you on the documentary thing. We can barely take one, much less several in a row. We watched God Forgot About Us not to long ago and almost had full on nervous breakdowns. It can be so hard to learn about injustice and suffering and not want to go all Ruby Ridge.
Virtual hug accepted until we can get the real thing in person.
Lots of inspiration here, guys. Thanks for the words of wisdom and leading by example. We often do get mixed results from our efforts to do more/be better etc., but we’ve at least got to try! Nice shout out to Lorna for her positive influence in the One Minute Project, too!
Thanks, Cathy – We really liked the idea behind Lorna’s post (hard not to!) and wanted to be sure to carry it with us to Glacier, especially since we were in “peace and love” mode doing our advo-camping and advo-hiking.
You are such great guys. I’m really glad I found your blog. Now I need to think about what I can do…
Awh thanks, Jan. We get inspired by all of you – our like-minded tribe.
I loved this post! Especially the “Complaint Free challenge”. I know I could do better in this regard because in all honestly I have nothing to really complain about! You both are great role models. Thanks for inspiring us to be better.
Oh, Debbie – the Complaint Free Challenge days were not a pretty picture in our house. Really, I started over so many times (you have to go 21 days with no complaining) that it was eye-opening (read: pathetic!).
Very interesting post! I really agree with you. Every action counts.
Thanks!
Many good words throughout this post! Thanks. Really highlights the power of the social network when you received the response you did.
Thanks for stopping by, John.
We never know what small actions or words will have a transforming impact on someone’s life – even if we don’t know them. Something I’ve been trying to focus more on in my life is having a positive attitude at all times – even when the situation isn’t to my liking. You guys are right, there’s no room for unproductive negativity.
A while back, I dropped (broke) a mobile phone, and I had to stop myself from going off the deep end. I felt irritation and a sour attitude invading my body and it was about to come flying out of my mouth. And then I thought “Am I really about to have a red-faced melt down because I broke a phone?” I checked myself but was still surprised by the wave of hardcore toxic emotion that came over me.
Glad to know we are not alone in the push to become more positive. Thanks, Mark.
Inspired again, guys. Thank you for taking the effort to take action, then telling everyone the end result.
My sponsor child “graduated” and didn’t need me anymore. I haven’t thought about the program for years. Time I did, I think. Thanks for the reminder.
We tell people all the time that sponsorship was our “gateway activity” into the world of giving back. Who would have thought…
Yes, walking the walk again.
You are sooo right about negativity. Being in control of how we behave so often begins with being in control of the words we say, and that begins with being conscious about what we think.
Insert cliche here; they’re all true.
Look for the good….
And it’s going to be VERY difficult to not be negative as we head into a huge political campaign year here in the US.
My favorite line is the one about how every interaction with people matters. I think that’s especially true in the online world, where you can have a lot of acquaintances without really getting to know them well. Great post, as always.
That’s a biggie for us, as we used to live life that didn’t allow us to see much of each other (scheduling dinners together, etc.). We try to really value every interaction.
echoing don, too – you’re SO right. when the meaningless stuff piles up and stresses us out, we need to step back and REMEMBER.
Thanks for stopping by!
Every action DOES count. I think traveling made me realize that more than ever, that I may be only one person, but I have thousands of interactions every day with people and I leave an impact. I try to be more thoughtful in the energy I put out into the world and take responsibility for myself in situations, but you never know what your impact might be.
I’m glad your post about Aliess inspired others. There are negative aspects about everything in live, even child sponsorship, but that doesn’t mean we can’t and shouldn’t try to make a difference in our own way.
Thanks for once again being an example of positive action!
Another part of the motivation behind this post was someone getting back to us – after the shortest interaction imaginable – and saying that something we had discussed sparked movement towards making a significant change.
Beautiful reminder, you guys – I always look forward to your posts because I know they’ll make me reflect.
And the Complaint Free challenge sounds like a brilliant exercise.
It IS brilliant until you realize that the 21 day challenge is turning into the 183 day challenge. Sigh.
life is too valuable. Completely agree! Every day we have the ability to make a difference, even if it’s a small as saying hello as we pass someone or a smile. It can go a long way and turn someone’s mood around. No need for negative energy here.
YES! A smile. Need to remember that…
I love this very thoughtful and thought provoking post. I believe that it is important to be self aware and be present in the moment. That is when you really start showing up and living your life in the deliberate quality you guys have mentioned. Very inspiring!
Living in the moment is so important and so tough. It takes a lot to undo all of that programming that tells you to re-think past decisions and to worry about the future. That’s no way to live and diminishes the quality of whatever is going on in the moment.
At a pet rescue event, i saw a girl with a t-shirt that said “i thought someone should do something about that. Then I realized that someone was me.” i love that!
Well put, indeed.
Very touching post… There is so much here to take back… many thanks for all
Thanks Arti.
Beautiful and inspiring, as always!
I also sponsor a child and spread the sponsorship word around my family, so we have a total of 5 sponsored children now. I’ve been planning to write about charity ideas on my blog, and your post’s success really inspires me to do it!
That’s awesome! Please write about it – I think people would be very excited to hear about your (and your family’s) experience.
What we’ve recognized is that people really want to participate in these kind of charities, but they don’t do so because they question if their actions will make a difference. By sharing our experiences, we can help remove that concern.
That’s a good point, that people question whether their actions will make a difference. The charity I sponsor a child through sends me updates about the child and letters from him. I’m sure the charity you use does something similar. I’ve got a post high on my to-do list! Thanks for the encouragement.
I just noticed in the comments below that you sponsor the child through Children International, which is the same charity I use.
aw guys!!! honestly, you are SUCH an inspiration to me all the time and i am so incredibly honored that you would mention me here considering the steady stream of goodness you share with readers every.single.time. my favorite quote here is: “There’s no room for valueless rants and unproductive negativity. Life is too valuable, too short.” think about what an amazing world, full of great acts of kindness and compassion we would have if only we all strictly adhered to this sentiment. i always remember something you said when i was with you last, “negativity is like taking poison and expecting someone else to die.” cheers to your goodness and all the great acts you’ve likely inspired here.
LOVE!
Thank you Lorna. We loved having the opportunity to spend time together and “figure the world out.” That quote (thank you Oprah) is a good one!
This is such a great post and your actions and support of Ailess is now snowballing into a blessing for many other children. One of your readers mentioned Kiva, I love being part of that, and seeing a donation give someone an opportunity to transform their life. You’re right, every action counts. Thank for reminding me.
While he have not worked with Kiva, I think it is a very well respected organization with a track record of doing a lot of good.
We have seen the power of micro-lending and micro-svaings first hand. We funded a small business for Ailless’s family (they are tailors by trade). They now sew school uniforms for the community. How cool is that!?
I am definitely going to check out Care International. I am going to get my kids involved also. Thanks for the motivation! I have always thought about doing this and it’s shameful I have not done more.
Love the Complaint Free challenge, even though it may not have gone well. What was successful was your raised awareness and that matters. Every moment we choose to be thoughtful and intentional is a moment of growth…
Please do check out Care – they are a fantastic organization. If you are considering sponsoring a child, we do that through Children International.
Thoughtful and intentional… It is amazing the impact of these two actions.
That really must have felt amazing to get such a great response from your earlier post. Hopefully this one goes viral too.
We were really shocked by the success, especially on Reddit. Reddit seems to be a lot of “rage comics” and “lol cats,” so we did not expect that a story about child sponsorship would catch on. Pretty cool.
Incredibly inspiring words! Thank you for sharing and inspiring us to be a better person. Less complaining, more positivity and action! sincerely thank you for the inspiration!
I love starting my mornings reading your (mostly, lol) positive posts. I’m doing a little series on non-gift holiday gifts (like Kiva loan and Smile Train), and, thanks to you, plan to include CARE–anything particular you want me to include?
Yes! That’s awesome! You can highlight their CARE packages: http://www.carepackage.org/