Update #23: Thinking about 2008

Dear Reader,

I wanted to take this internet opportunity to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday. I send you warm wishes for a peaceful new year. I have been quite well, enjoying the slowing pace of the holiday season as well as some precious rainfall. The end of 2007 has found me reading, cooking, talking with friends, and decorating my house. Not only that though. I have been thinking about you, and how much I miss you.
I’ve also been thinking about the turning of the year. You see, it has become customary that every year I select a short phrase that will serve as my personal motto. This motto is an expression of what motivates me to act, as well as the ideal I strive to live up to. Last year’s (2007) motto, for example, was two-fold: 1. If we don’t do it, who will? 2. Be humble. That motto was an expression of my commitment to learning about my community and building capacity in others so that they might effectively help themselves (rather than me try and do it all alone). But what will it be for the new year?
You see, Reader, 2008 brings with it many possibilities. As I look around my community here in Mozambique, I see that there is a sizeable number of small things that could be done to improve our lives here. I’m not talking about big projects and major funding sources. I’m referring to initiatives that cost nothing and could be accomplished by any organized individual or group of citizens. You see, so many helpful initiatives are simply a product of will and action. Whether it’s picking up garbage, rehabilitating a playground, or fixing local roads, everyone wins (at no cost!).
It is this precise sentiment that drives me to thus cast my personal motto for the coming year. [And don’t think that I haven’t thought about it, at length] My personal motto for 2008 is: Everything is as we make it. In other words, something is special if we make it special; we cannot sit and simply hope it to be so. If we put in the work, take the time to get perspective, ask questions, act thoughtfully, and honestly pour ourselves into what we do – it is bound to be extraordinary. You get out what you put in.
On another level though, ‘Everything is as we make it’ is a statement about the
human-ness of the situation we find ourselves in. I sometimes forget that war, peace, disparity, kindness, unity – these are human constructions. An unfair law that is passed, for example, is the work of a group of individual humans, nothing more. When we view institutions such as law or authority in this light, we may remember that it is inherently within our capacity to shape them, if we will it strongly enough. This is to say that each of us is capable of love or hatred, and we must daily choose how we will impact those around us. The Buddha says:

“For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time;
hatred ceases by love; this is an old rule.”
- circa 520 B.C.E.

That gets me to thinking: what exactly are we waiting for? And I mean ‘we’, you and me, Reader. There are countless ways in which we can reach out, at no cost, and improve things around us. This may simply mean telling our loved ones how we feel about them. It could mean giving someone a compliment and looking them in the eye. Perhaps one could donate some time to a certain young person – read them a few stories or play a game. (We could also go beyond that and reach deeper into our communities. What about bringing a meal to a neighbor? Perhaps volunteering some blood or reading stories to kids at the local library. Writing our local or state representatives about issues dear to us is also an option. Or maybe simply being kind to someone unknown to us.)
The point is that things are as we make them. If we reach out and care for one another, today, we all benefit.
Oh, but I forgot to mention one of my favorite parts! -- That in choosing a motto for 2008, one is also obliged to choose a false motto (a statement that expresses the exact opposite of how you feel and where you would like to go in the coming year). In 2006 my false motto was “Get in, get out, get paid”. 2007 saw the rise of “Every man for himself!” Now, for 2008, I have selected: “If it’s not on television, I’m not interested.” Reader, what are your motto and false motto for 2008? Email me, I’m so curious!
Anyway, I suppose that more than anything, I wanted to wish you a happy new year and encourage you to keep others in mind as you celebrate. Please do take care of yourself and those around you. I will check in again in 2008!

PEACE (of mind)

Kevin

Ps. Thanks to a few great thinkers/authors for inspiring this message: Cornel West, Colman McCarthey, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and Thomas Merton. Musically: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, D’Angelo, Nina Simone, Jill Scott, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, the Persuasions, and Habib Koite.