If you turn on the television, pick up a news paper or read an online news article today it might make you feel hopeless. You may wonder to yourself what can YOU do to make a difference or impact. Well, I for one refuse to give up hope. I am still a believer that LOVE + UNITY can win over hate and division. But LOVE + UNITY must be active to truly be an antidote to hate. Let me share with you a few things that you do to be a difference maker.
START
The first thing to do is START. Start to have conversations with your friends, co-workers, neighbors, even people you meet. Ask them three questions:
- How can we make our community, neighborhood, workplace be a place where everyone feels welcome and safe?
- What can we do together to make this happen?
- What will you commit to no longer do that might be impacting the ability of others to feel welcome or safe?
I know, you might be thinking to yourself, “Really. I’m just going to go up to people and ask them those three questions?” My answer to you is YES! Start with one or two people that you feel most comfortable with, then branch out to a few others. Ask the people that you talk with to do the same. Pretty soon you will be surprised as to how many people you (and the people in your circle of influence) will reach!
CONTINUE
If you have already been part of a larger dialogue, like one about “Building or Rebuilding Community” or one on “Racial Issues,” commit to CONTINUING that dialogue. Ways that you can continue this work, dialogue are by:
- Developing a list of things you want to do, or areas you want to be involved in, to build hope in your community.
- Ask yourself are there any local legislative changes you think could move communities to becoming more hopeful places that demonstrate how we can truly be united.
Again, some of this might seem overwhelming. So what I will say is take it one step at a time. Start small. But just keep going, continue. Don’t stop. Don’t allow what you see on television or read in the news to paralyze you with fear or make you become disillusioned.
Because what you will find is there are more people who really want to live in a world, in a community, in a neighborhood where there is more visible LOVE + UNITY = antidote to hate.
Consider joining the movement by showing the world that you stand on the side of LOVE + UNITY by liking us on Facebook or sporting our LOVE + UNITY gear.