Three Simple Things

Every day, many of us would like to respond in some way to what’s happening around us, but for a variety of reasons we don’t. We may feel that we have no time, no resources, no power, or no impact. We may not know where to start, what to do, or who to work with. We may be afraid of failure, ridicule, meetings and committees, wasting our time, getting depressed…

Think how many times you've felt this way. Now multiply that by every person who’d recognize this feeling, and we are talking about millions of missed opportunities for action and collaboration every day.

Now imagine a different world.

Imagine if some of us, many of us—enough of us—could agree on just three things. Three simple “social protocols” that could help us build the world we’d like to live in, one day and one community at a time.

First, a broad and inclusive vision based on some of the values that so many of us share. Namely: to help build a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives, and to do it in a spirit of generosity and mutual respect.

Second, a monthly celebration of action and collaboration on 7/7, 8/8, 9/9, etc. Why these dates? Because they seem to be very memorable, and because they “work” all over the world (3/7 is March 7th in some countries and July 3rd in others, but 7/7 works in both.)

And so imagine if once a month, on these dates, we all gave each other the encouragement, the inspiration, and the collective “social permission” to share, teach, build, plan, convene, advocate… and in every other way spark more action and connection, while also celebrating and shining a light on all the wonderful work that’s already being done all around us.

Taken separately, each of these actions would be meaningful in their own right. But imagine the cumulative impact—and the contagious energy—of all this happening on the same day, locally and around the world, month after month.

And lastly, to make this impact and these values visible, across cultures and languages, imagine sharing a strong and joyful symbol that anyone could adopt and adapt in any way they like.

Like the recycling logo, but for doing good.

If we can imagine this, if we can see it, on social media, on a neighbor’s window, on the walls of a country where freedom is only a hope or a whisper… then together we can show that we are definitely not alone, and that the world is full of wonderful people who agree on some of the most important things in life.

A better world is possible. We all know this in our hearts. So let's build it. Thanks for reading!