cktimes.ca Archives for Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Chatham-Kent needs people who are \"Alive\"!
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who come alive!" ( Harold Whitman)People who "come alive"! I cannot think of a better description of what Chatham-Kent (not to mention the entire world!) needs right now. There are too many "walking dead" out there.
The other day I was in the grocery store mindlessly searching for some mundane item with my head down and totally ignoring the world around me when I felt someone staring at me. I stopped a bit puzzled and looked around and noticed a little girl studying me intently. She could not have been more than five years old and had the wonderful wide-eyed innocent look that only a child of that age can have. She looked directly at me and smiled broadly and said in a loud, high-spirited voice "Hi"!
I responded with a surprised "Hi" and a smile that immediately and uncontrollably formed on my lips. In an instant she and her mother were gone. They had turned down another aisle and her interest had turned from me to the next object to catch her eye.
I, however, stopped and considered how that simple smile and that exuberant one word had changed my disposition and immediate outlook. I felt uplifted and happier. I was suddenly much more aware of the world around me and those who inhabited it.
I started to really look at people......I mean REALLY look at them. They were, for the most part, mindlessly roaming the aisles of that food mart in much the same way I had been. Some looked tired, others bored, others sad and still others seemed to be walking in a daze or a fog of sorts. Very few were what I would call "alive". That little girl was probably the most "alive" person in the entire store.
How and why do we lose that "aliveness"? How is it that the world beats the life out of us? How do we lose that youthful exuberance that causes us to be vibrant, exciting, compassionate, concerned, involved and optimistic about life and the future.
There are too many of us that, much too early in life, lose that sense of being alive and instead choose a form of "death in life". We become hollow, narrow-minded, stagnant, closed to new ideas and extremely self-centered. We complain about everything but do nothing to change them. We hold no hope for the future. We choose to see things filtered through our eyes only and rarely make the effort to see things from another point of view.
We retreat into our own limited, tightly bordered world. Our world becomes, at best, our families and , at worst, our selves alone. We fail to recognize that we are part of a bigger community and that we have certain responsibilities to that larger community. We know all of our rights but none of our responsibilities. We want to take things from our community, our governments, our school system, our health care and the world in general but choose to never give anything back.
Just imagine what a wonderful community it would be if every single individual in Chatham-Kent chose to do just one thing to make this a better place to live. If every man, woman and child took the time and made the effort to use their individual talents, skills or resources to accomplish just one thing for their community just imagine the difference it would make.
I don't mean starting a festival, writing a book, helping the poor, cleaning up a neighbourhood, volunteering in a hospital or even being part of a service club. All those things are great but it doesn't have to be that large a commitment. Use your individual talents in a totally selfless manner to benefit your community in some small way that may take less than an hour or maybe even just a few moments.
Maybe it's simply attending a community event that you have never attended before and showing your support. Maybe it means making a donation to a community event or service that you have no interest in at all but know that it's good for the community as a whole. Maybe it's phoning someone in the community who does a great deal for the community and simply saying, "Thanks. Thanks for all the things you do for Chatham-Kent. It's much appreciated". Maybe it's taking the time to write a letter of support to the newspaper for something you see positive happening in your community. Or a thousand other things that places you in a position where you are a cheerleader for the good things happening in our community rather than a negative nay-sayer. Aren't there enough of those individuals already?
Whatever you do, it should be something that makes you feel "alive". Do something for your community and you will feel a sense of warmth, of satisfaction, a pleasure not derived by any other activity. When you go beyond yourself and do something for the community as a whole you cannot but help feel alive in the very best sense of that word.
And maybe it does not have to be anymore than noticing some pre-occupied, slightly harried middle aged man in a grocery store and simply stopping, smiling and saying "Hi!".
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
