When the Going Gets Tough...

I suppose in the natural course of Life, there are moments when we'd rather do anything else but confront the mission before us. Why bother? As a good friend recently told me, "it's not like a single person can really make a difference."

I feel weighed down by that assessment. I really do.

I guess the bottom line is that, as an individual, I'm not trying to save the world. (Gosh, just writing that line makes me wonder how narcissistic I'd have to be if I truly believed that I alone could save the world!)

Instead, the only thing I try to do is take responsibility for myself in the context of my surroundings. Turns out, much of my daily existence takes place in the academy when I'm not at home. Perhaps this is why BagFest developed as it did, and why this project has extended to other areas in my life.

It's also comforting to know that other folks share this belief. Take Michael, for example. He and his classmates have been taking action to clean the Hautapu River in New Zealand. As Michael said in a recent post, "What we found wasn’t very promising but also reiterated why we chose this project and what we will be endeavouring to achieve in the remaining weeks."

Michael's comment reminded me that anything worth pursuing comes with challenges we must attempt to overcome. I guess the ultimate challenge is this: When the going gets tough, am I the kind of person who accepts things just the way they are, or am I the kind of person who tries to do something anyway?