A little virtue. A little patience. A little love. A little bit of respect. A little bailout...That's probably a t-shirt or something. A little less jealously. A little less recklessness. A little less war. This is what we can all hope for. Sometimes, a little less of one brings about the little bit of the others. Whatever the case, this week, it's been all about the 'little bit."
Recently, I've been absolutely committed to taking it one day at a time. Even the bible says not to worry about tomorrow, because it will, in fact, worry about itself. In reality, today and tomorrow are only a "little bit" of the rest of your life. My place of employment challenges this notion almost constantly. TODAY seems like the biggest thing that has ever happened to you. TOMORROW? Even bigger. It's hard to keep things in perspective and tuck today and tomorrow into the neat little confines of 24 hours. Lacking this perspective makes life the most overwhelming concept ever. But in a world, in a society, where gaining an inch is the new mile, "a little bit"may be all that we get......for now. But is that so bad? I know that everyone wants the world to change completely and radically, but how overwhelming would that change be if it were suddenly dumped in our laps. Heck, electing a black president was radical for most. And yet that " radical change" was made of every "little bit" that volunteers and field organizers and supporters gave to the process. Every community organizer that I know would follow me on this one, but to further illustrate the point I'll introduce you to Rose Musegass.
Rose Musegas was an 83 year-old Belgian woman who lived in Harrisonville, MO. She volunteered for the Obama campaign under the direction of my co-worker, Zach Werkowitch. This is a woman whose life witnessed the defeat of the Germans and the Republicans!! :-) Whose life is a better testament to the advancement of society? I write about Rose not just because she was a rockstar or because she always told me that I had a "cute touche" every time that I saw her, but because she is recently deceased. But she died in a changed world. A world altered by the little bit that she gave to the movement for change. The phone calls that she made, the doors that she knocked on.... The following convo between Zach and Rose during a campaign phonebank embodies the spirit of the woman that she was.
Zach: Rose, you've been here for hours, you look tired. I can take you home if you want.
Rose: Are you kidding? There are only two weeks left! We must keep going strong! This is how we defeated the Germans!
That was Rose...the woman whose little bit multiplied itself in memory and will always remain in the hearts of two organizers from Cass Co, MO. Rest in Peace Rose. :-)
Right now, I'm on a little bit of vacay. Let me tell you. It'll go a long way to ease the weariness of my working woman soul. :-) Gives me a little bit of time to remain still and reflect on life. A little bit of time to reconnect with old friends. Does a lot to sustain me in the immense ocean of future plans, grad school apps and resume building. But honestly.The essence of the little bit is that it turns into a lot. A little bit of peace and quiet yields a great deal of perspective. But not until we learn to appreciate it, and steward it! A Little bit of justice, for instance, grows only when people are helping it along. Humans are stewards of the earth, but more importantly, stewards of virtue. Therefore, we have not because we steward not. Soooooo. The STANDard here: We reap what we sow. And every amazing thing that we unearth in this world is a building block for something even more amazing and awe-inspiring. I'm sure that you've heard me say it before.
This is not a swan song for complacency, just some encouragement to drive the road of "little bits" until you reach your destination, because you may just find a "a little bit" about yourself, a "little bit" about others and a whole lot about your world.
No comments:
Post a Comment