This is a time of year when there’s a strong focus on families, celebration, gratitude and hope. We also are living with the war in Ukraine, political discord, layoffs, social inequities and the rising cost of living. For the majority, there will be the difficult work of watching our budgets. However, for too many people, there will be much more serious food insecurity and deep concern about how to cover these rising costs.
What can we do?
There’s a lot more that we can do than we may realize. It starts with each of us doing our part to help others, to partner with others to advocate for peace and justice and leverage the relationships and community assets that exist. That’s the alchemy that can transform whatever one of us can do into the collective impact that can move mountains.
The alchemy that transforms our individual efforts into collective impact is powerful.
Building Communities of Hope is my book that addresses these issues with stories that inspire all of us to rise up to our best, and reflections about how we can build communities of hope, knowing that there are both presenting needs as well as structural, public policy and funding issues that must be address. All of them, with each of us doing our part. There are practical strategies that work, because they enable us to contribute our skills, talents and expertise in areas where we shine. If many others contribute their parts, the entirety of our work continues to build capacity and momentum. It’s like a living organism that begins to build a life of its own, and we’re part of something much larger. It’s often hard work. But, when we work with a passion for making a difference, it makes the weight lighter. Others sharing the load also makes it lighter. Making a positive difference lifts each of us up and strengths us, building gratitude and hope in our lives. The collective impact is something to celebrate.
Rev. Dr. Anne Hays Egan, Author of Building Communities of Hope, available in a new, third edition on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Building-Communities-Hope-People-Positive/dp/1952681006/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1661720060&sr=8-1
