I am so proud of this chapter (I’ve just finished the chapter of the book on giving back). I am proud of it because it’s personal and it has the power to connect us into taking action to make a better society and help thse around us. It has the power to eliminate situational anonymity and make the anonymous around us shine.
So what do we know? We know this is a life area we want to do more in. That desire is a perfect example of our humanness shining through. We are and have always been social creatures. We connect and bond. We had to in ancient times to survive. How we worked together as a tribe was key to our very existence.
Over time, we have become less reliant on others for survival. And with technology steaming ahead at a frightening pace, our communication with each other is in emoticons and flashes of colours over a picture with the use of a filter. It is not the real us. It is not who we are at our core. And real connections, real conversations and real engagement can become secondary to our behavioural interactions. But we deep down don’t want that. We don’t want to be anonymous. We want to be seen and heard and valued. All of us do. The people who live amongst us who are the most vulnerable in our society, need this more than ever. And that places us in a really privileged position. And it is one of responsibility.
One of my favourite quotes is actually form Jamie Foxx when he was accepting the Academy Award for his portrayal of Ray Charles in 2005 when he recounted meeting the great Sidney Poitier who said to Jamie “I gift you responsibility”. We all have been given that gift!
It is what we do with it that matters.
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