When people get to work

I’m reading a book by Seth Godin, his newest, called The Practice. The intention of the book is quite simply to encourage you to share something generous with the world, something that is particularly you. The world is a bit of a tumultuous mess right now. You might blame it on a pandemic. You might blame it on politics. You might blame it on ignorance. You might blame it on other people. You might blame it on big business. You might blame it on the government, your spouse, your kids, your parents, your neighbors or any other of a variety of groups of people or entities or whatever it may be. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds, or at most, a moment or two to find someone to blame for the mess we all find ourselves in.

The point is this, however, that probably the best way forward is for you to give the best part of you in service to others, your community, your culture, your world. We need you. We need you to do the work. Put yourself out there and be generous. Whether or not you believe in yourself, I believe in you.

Not everyone will be a professional ‘sharer’ of ideas, concepts or products, but we value your opinion, ideas and thoughts nevertheless. This is how we make change. This is how we make things better.

Our landscape is dominated by people who want you to believe something. Not just any something but the something that they want for you to believe. They don’t want you to have your own voice. They want you to have their voice. This is powerful when people wholeheartedly agree on that something but when people are boondoggled into believing that something the whole thing falls apart.

Please share with us what you believe, what change you would like to see. We will see if it resonates. If/when it does, at least with that someone with whom it is for, then you will have started a something of your own. That is needed. Ultimately we will all decide what somethings are important and what are not but we must hear from you first.

Now I am not talking about inventing truth/truths. There is a thing called truth and it is important. But within that realm there are some good ideas and not everyone agrees on them. In fact, few people even know about them. The elite and their ideas are what are put forth in this world. They have ideas. That is good. But, that is not better than what you have to share. Let’s hear it all and then decide. The truth is in there somewhere, usually making us feel uncomfortable to some degree, and we will find it amidst the variety of ideas. Sometimes the truth is not even at stake. Sometimes your idea will simply open up a new perspective so that something can be done differently, more effectively. Or sometimes your idea may inspire someone else to be better. To make better choices. To behave better. That is my hope. That is the change I want to have in my creative work.

Sometimes it is necessary simply to share something you know that others may have missed or have passed off as silly, ridiculous or simply unimportant. It is your job to let people know why it is important. For instance, our world generally lives on the idea that credit is good. Is it really? Maybe you have a different thought or belief on that that is important for the world to know. How you share it is up to you. Maybe you are an artist. Maybe a writer. Maybe a speaker. Maybe a humorist. Maybe a musician. Maybe a thinker that simply needs to figure out a way to open up. Maybe photographer. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. I hope you get the idea. It is not for me to figure any of that out. It is for me to encourage you to share. To decide that the only way for the world to change truly at this point is if we all make it a point to give it our very best. Mine is not to decide what your very best is but to simply ask you to share it with us. We would start to see immediate changes if we all dedicated ourselves to this endeavor. I’m not talking about being critical. I’m not talking about being judgmental. I am talking about being meaningful.

Any ideas for your something? If I am correct, and I believe that I am, everyone has something to give to the rest of us. What is it that you have to give? How can you be generous in such a time when we need it desperately? The times are tumultuous at best and the remedy is for us all to generously give and generously receive from one another.

What do you say?