Why doesn’t someone fix it?
"I do this so this world will know that it will not change me" - Garth Brooks
Whenever I meet my friend, Michelle, for a catch up over coffee, we end up in a deep philosophical conversation, asking each other questions we can’t answer ourselves. Deep conversations are what my soul craves. Whilst my immediate family are very used to me pondering the meaning of life and trying to make sense of the world, they are the first to tell me to snap out of it, and to stop overthinking. Michelle, on the other hand, encourages these seemingly random lines of thought, and I come away desperate to write and to journal immediately, so as not to risk forgetting anything.
This coffee meeting came in the same week that the news headlines were particularly bad. I’ve always been deeply affected by the news. In more recent years I have taught myself to be careful, to limit my exposure to the news, even deleting the app from my phone for a few weeks when I was having a difficult time. But, when I’m feeling at my most anxious, a bit down, or having a bad day, instead of avoiding the headlines, I find myself obsessing over the details of the stories.
In my workshops I talk about how we all have the ability to make a positive difference in the world. I encourage people to keep going; to start that community group, to run that project, to share their story. I wholeheartedly believe all of that. I live all of that, most of the time.
Then I read the news, and I feel completely and totally helpless.
I read the news and my thoughts spiral into, ‘How could someone do that to someone else?’, ‘I don’t understand how this can have been allowed to happen’ and ‘what’s wrong with people?’. And then it comes, the same frustrating thought every time. ‘Why doesn’t someone fix it?’
We all have variations of this thought. The bins in the park are overflowing. Why doesn’t someone fix it? My children’s school budget means they can’t afford to buy new pencils. Why doesn’t someone fix it? An elderly relative was waiting over an hour for an ambulance. Why doesn’t someone fix it? A man, already on probation for violent crimes, murdered his partner and her children. Why the hell doesn’t someone fix this system?
I wonder who we mean by ‘someone’. Usually we mean the authorities, the people in charge, whether that’s the government, the NHS, or our employers. It’s precisely the frustration that other people are not doing their jobs that results in this feeling of helplessness. We think, ‘what’s the point?’
So when Michelle asked me this week why I was so passionate about what I did, what kept me going when running any business was so difficult, why it was that important to me, I wanted to respond with my usual answer. The majority of my skills and experience come from the last 16+ years of working in the charity sector. So I help people to start up community groups. I help people raise money for their projects. I advocate for those individuals who are genuinely trying to make a positive difference in their community. I help people to turn what matters to them into real impact.
As I was answering her I realised. That’s what I do, but it’s not why I do it.
I know I can’t stop wars, murders, or animal cruelty. I can’t fix poverty or other peoples’ hate. But I have to believe there is more good in the world than bad. I have to believe that most people are inherently good, and I have to deliberately and very intentionally go out and find real examples of that to back up this belief. Because the moment I start to believe the opposite, the day I begin to trust that the news headlines accurately reflect the state of the world, then really, what’s the point?
I do this so that the next time someone comes to me in despair, feeling hopeless, I can encourage them to carry on. I can remind them that it is still worth them doing what they can in their community, and I can mean it.
I can say that the only thing any of us can do, and therefore the most important thing any of us can do, is to do our bit of good in our little corner of the world, and that that does add up, that it does mean something.
It reminds me of one of my favourite songs by Garth Brooks, which I’ll leave here for you. I keep this on my regular playlist as a reminder. You can listen to it here.
One hand
Reaches out
And pulls a lost soul from harm
While a thousand more go unspoken for
They say what good have you done
By saving just this one
It's like whispering a prayer
In the fury of a storm
And I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world will know
That it will not change me
This heart
Still believes
That love and mercy still exist
While all the hatred rage and so many say
That love is all but pointless in madness such as this
It's like trying to stop a fire
With the moisture from a kiss
And I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world will know
That it will not change me
The Change by Garth Brooks (written by Tony Arata & Wayne Tester)
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Thanks for reading, Rachel x