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December 2008 
Service Living
Posted on Jun 2nd, 2007
by 
Misty
Misty
Grappling with ways to be effective as an encourager and promoter of change...
Working toward a greater goal (making positive change) and opening myself up to possibilities toward that -- is this good enough? Should I not perhaps consider a very specific way to do this, apart from planning work with extant NGO's and advocacy groups? Like Paul Farmer, who has brilliantly plied his medical trade toward huge impact on global and national scales (see Mountains Beyond Mountains, his biography by Tracy Kidder). Like Wade Davis, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, who has spent his life not only exploring and cataloging the world, but also helping to conserve both environmentally and culturally.
These are amazing role models...but how do I get there from here? I worry because there's no going back to age 18; I certainly don't think my time has passed, but what are the possibilities for prime effectiveness from this, my unique juncture in space and time? I want so desperately to do GREAT things (wish I'd done it sooner!) and specificity may be key at this point. And, of course I'm not thinking specialization, per se, because that's overdone by Westerners, in my opinion (de-emphasizing gorgeous interconnectivity)...more along the lines of clarity and initial focus upon a particular facet of possible action. Typical: more specific, Misty!
Being one's best ain't easy. At least, not yet!
Working toward a greater goal (making positive change) and opening myself up to possibilities toward that -- is this good enough? Should I not perhaps consider a very specific way to do this, apart from planning work with extant NGO's and advocacy groups? Like Paul Farmer, who has brilliantly plied his medical trade toward huge impact on global and national scales (see Mountains Beyond Mountains, his biography by Tracy Kidder). Like Wade Davis, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, who has spent his life not only exploring and cataloging the world, but also helping to conserve both environmentally and culturally.
These are amazing role models...but how do I get there from here? I worry because there's no going back to age 18; I certainly don't think my time has passed, but what are the possibilities for prime effectiveness from this, my unique juncture in space and time? I want so desperately to do GREAT things (wish I'd done it sooner!) and specificity may be key at this point. And, of course I'm not thinking specialization, per se, because that's overdone by Westerners, in my opinion (de-emphasizing gorgeous interconnectivity)...more along the lines of clarity and initial focus upon a particular facet of possible action. Typical: more specific, Misty!
Being one's best ain't easy. At least, not yet!
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