Hope, despite...

Sep 27, 2007

The recent "light-outs" campaign in Utah proved unsuccessful, but it doesn't mean we should stop trying to conserve.

In an effort to show how community-wide participation can help with saving energy, a recent campaign to encourage Utahns to turn out the lights from 9-10pm one evening lamentably resulted in no significant conservation.  Nevertheless, Utahns should still focus on conservation practices.

After the lights-out campaign results were announced, I thought a lot about how much effect simple acts can have in a community.  I have always believed that the sum of many simple acts can net significant results.  Despite the results of this campaign, I still believe it.  Little things do add up, and little things can make a big difference.

That may sound a little cliche, but it is particularly true with giving.  Giving a little can go a long way - and not just because non-profits are good at stretching a dollar.  When someone greets me and uses my first name - it goes along way.  When someone thanks you for a simple gesture, - you feel real good.  Little acts, especially done to benefit someone else, seem to carry greater weight.

For these reasons, I have hope.  I have hope the uninsured can receive proper care, not just through wellness and prevention programs, but also through statesman-like dialogue among community leaders and citizens.  I have hope that chronic hunger can disappear as we waste a little less and give a little more from our abundance.  And I have hope that peace can settle in our world based on people treating each other a little better each day. 

I will always give because I have hope.

-Josh