The Step

You are a force, no matter your background, no matter your income, no matter the state of your awareness or education. Nature’s most fundamental truth is that all things change, and that rule applies to the leaves on the trees just as significantly as it does the hearts of people or the intentions of nations. History, no matter how protracted, is nothing more than our cataloguing of change; our developments, our tragedies and mistakes, our sadness and frustrations, our joys and triumphs. And while it may suffer the transgressions of bias at the hands of some, it remains pure at its most fundamental level. It reminds us that no matter how insignificant we might be that we must ultimately succumb to change, and that change begins with a single step.

There are those in this world that, because of their own fear, hold to the belief that certain criteria must be met before others can confront the possibility of change, if at all. In truth, we live in a society that is squeezed by both sides in many ways – by those that defend the status quo and those that believe that ordinary people, for whatever reason, haven’t the right to address its alteration because they do not adhere to various conditions. It is in the middle, with those whose hearts are in the right place but worry about the condemnation that might occur if they choose to take that first step, that the need for openness and support is required. Be it a billionaire or a line cook at a truck stop, nothing alters the possibility of either realistically contributing to positive change besides those that claim that they can’t for whatever petty reason that is offered up as an excuse. In doing so, such detractors are, in truth, the real enemies of change, and their inability to recognize that fact is one of the most dangerous realities of our world.

We live in complex times fraught with confusions and double standards. For most of us, we are citizens of societies that require the usury of others to thrive. Many of us are, of course, uncomfortable with that reality, but obviously not to such an extent that we are willing to dramatically abandon what we have to invoke immediate and drastic change. The reality of our situation is that by even using a computer or a stereo that is powered by standard sources we are contributing to a problem, as both ultimately require oil to function (more oil is actually used for industrial purposes than for gas). The same reality applies to those that turn up at G8 protests to hurl stones at the Police, ultimately accomplishing nothing positive whatsoever but the promotion of lawlessness and idiocy.

So where does it begin, this single step forward that will ultimately result in the shaking of the earth? I am only one man, and that being the case, do what I believe I can to focus on those things that I feel strongly about. I am a man that is, like all men, flawed, one that has regrets, one that harbours fears and resentments. And yet, despite all of those things, I struggle on a daily basis to hold on to my belief that people have the ability to change and grow and realize that there is always time left to take that first step forward.

You don’t need to go to Iraq and be a human shield to be against the war. You don’t need to travel to Darfur to believe that what is happening there is wrong, or that by doing what you can, in whatever way, to help stop it that your efforts aren’t positive. You don’t have to start firebombing car dealerships because you’re worried about global warming. You just have to hold fast to the belief that when the time comes for you to make a decision that will be impacting that you will act according to your conscience and dismiss those that would belittle your efforts, no matter their views.

As long as the sun rises in the morning there will always be time to do a little more. And that is the only thing in this life that you will ever truly be accountable to.