For me, it doesn't happen very often. But sometimes, I forget what I've seen, who I know, and my responsibility as a global citizen.
James 2:14-17 (NLT, emphasis mine)
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well" -- but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
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I believe this more a result of an inability to act - in truth, I am stuck. I literally have contemplated this for months: what do I, a wife and mother in suburbia with fairly small resources, do to care for the wider world?
My perspective has been broadened, my heart opened to the things of the world, I cannot return to my previous bliss. There are faces I cannot and will not forget. I also cannot return to life in the third world. I am literally stuck between worlds. I feel the duality.
It has me messed up. (And I'm glad.)
I've accepted that after living in a third world county, I will struggle with these issues for the rest of my life. (Joking with a friend, I mentioned that since I have mini life-crises every few months, maybe I will avoid the big mid-life crisis?)
But I've felt ready to act. Yet I have been unable to find any outlet to satisfy this desire.
So sometimes it's just easier to "forget" and get caught up in daily life. I am supposed to be present here and now. Right?
But, as healthy as living in the present is, something in my life is missing. There is a disconnect between my thoughts and actions. Do I just resign myself to feeling this way? Or do I work to resolve it in some way?
I feel an enormous yearning to "make my feelings, actions and life congruent" (Voluntary Simplicity, p. 36).
This article (written by an ex-pat too!) takes the "think globally, act locally" to a different place - and a perspective I really like - think and act locally.
Yes, please. I love the idea of supporting local economy, small business and keeping revenue in the community. It's amazing to make friends with your neighbors at the farm, the post office, coffee shop, and antique stores. But, for me, it's not enough.
When I came across "think globally, act locally" in my reading about simplicity, all I wanted to do was think AND act globally. But how?
(Am I missing the point? Am I trying too hard? Can I think and act locally and globally or am I out of my mind?)
What do you think? How do you act globally?
