“In a time of destruction, create something: a poem, a parade, a community, a school, a vow, a moral principle; one peaceful moment.” – Maxine Hong Kingston
“When in doubt, do something.” – Harry Chapin
About a month ago, I had the great pleasure of being present at an event sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council in St. Louis, at which my close university colleague Cheryl received an award for her years of service, wisdom and dedication, not only to the Jewish community but to the entire community. During the ceremony, one of the speakers spoke of “Hakarat Hatov,” a Hebrew term for gratitude. It literally means, I came to learn, “recognizing the good.” And I thought to myself, that’s a pretty good place to begin.
We live in unsettled, dangerous, destructive, confusing times, and it would be easy to allow our only response to be one of resignation, of saying to ourselves and to the rest of the world, “I give up. It’s just too big. It’s just too destructive. I have nothing to offer that will make a difference.”
But such a response is lazy and not a response of faith. A response of faith allows us (perhaps propels us) to roll up our sleeves and, as Maxine Hong Kingston writes above, do something creative. Or, as I learned from listening to my musical and social justice hero Harry Chapin many years ago, “When in doubt, do something.”
My friend Cheryl uses her gifts to create and build communities and relationships, even when such relationships are sometimes fraught with misunderstandings, prejudices and anger. She wades into the water and gets people talking. When in doubt, do something. Recognize the good.
My sister Dianne packages up school supplies and sends them (or even drives them) to reservation schools in Arizona and South Dakota. She knows she’s not changing the whole world or system but refuses to be stopped or controlled by those kinds of numbing and destructive thoughts. When in doubt, do something. Recognize the good.
My friend Jill teaches her students what it means to be a good leader and how to find and embrace joy in the midst of the rigors and stress of an elite research university. Some of these students come from extreme poverty and some from extreme privilege, but they all need to learn these lessons. She may not transform each and every one of those lives and there are only so many students that fit in a classroom, but she uses the time, space and opportunities she has been given to make a difference. When in doubt, do something. Recognize the good.
My son Jon created Switch Coffee with two friends to “switch perceptions” of those in our communities who need a chance to begin again after some mistakes. He and his partners are creating jobs for ex-offenders, conversations around issues of inequality and privilege and, at the same time, some pretty good coffee that allows farmers in Colombia and Papua New Guinea to make prosperity wages. When in doubt, do something. Recognize the good.
My daughter Jenny teaches second graders at St. Ann Catholic School in a poor, inner-ring suburb of St. Louis and takes part of her summer to travel to rural and remote areas of Canada to help transform people and communities through Lamp Ministry. She teaches her students to read and write, of course. But she also teaches them what it means to love and pray and dance and sing at the top of their lungs. Some will go on to great things because of her. Others will still struggle with the lives they have been dealt. That doesn’t mean Jenny will stop showing them how to learn, pray, sing and dance. When in doubt, do something. Recognize the good.
My friend Jean created Walter’s Walk, a non-profit counseling center to help individuals recover from trauma, depression and anxiety without regard to their ability to pay or their access to health insurance; my wife’s God-daughter Christy created Fearless Women, a faith-based organization specifically for women coping with anxiety; I could go on and on…
I have been gifted and surrounded by so many family, friends and colleagues who live reflective, responsive lives, who sense a call somewhere deep that their lives are meant to serve and do something good and more, despite the overwhelming knowledge that they are up against tremendous odds. Odds are just statistics, after all, and we can’t allow statistics to rule our actions and convince us that whatever we are doing isn’t worth our time because there’s too much work to do. We are created to be better than that.
When in doubt, do something. Recognize the good. Hakarat Hatov.
Barbara says
Your writing today made me absolutely cry. There are so many trying to do good things for others. All you hear on TV and radio and etc. is how awful everyone is. Here you are showing us how absolutely wonderful people can be. I am 73 and have always believed that love is the answer. We can do things for others and ourselves. Thank you, thank you.
Judi says
Steve, it’s been more than 30 years since a certain student in a certain evening college feature writing class brought in an article on Arlo Guthrie in response to an assignment…and thus began my awareness that over and over in your life, you have exemplified this principle of recognizing the good…and clearly your children have caught it, too. Thank you for this essay today; it comes at just the right time. Blessings.
admin says
Thank you, Barbara. Love is, indeed, the answer. And God is love….
admin says
Thanks, JL, one of a few incredible people who taught me how to put once sentence in front of another to make sense and maybe change the world a little…
Rosemay says
As always, Steve, your insight is timely. Thank you, my mantra today will be “Recognize good, when in doubt, do something”. We can ALL do Something. I so enjoy your writings, here as well as in Living Faith. Thank you for doing something to help change my life. God Bless, have a wonderful day!
admin says
Thanks, Rosemary….