Being The Change I Want To See In The World!!
I have the same weaknesses as many other men and women do but I think a big difference between myself and most others is that I am able to see and admit my weaknesses.
The world I see around me makes very little sense. We are constantly being told that we are at the pinnacle of human civilisation yet when I walk through my home city I see nothing that would confirm this claim.
When I take the time to watch the news I am even less convinced that this is true.
In my opinion the world around us is falling apart and our attitude to one another is at an all time low! We are regressing rather than progressing in our relationships with each other and with the world we inhabit.
We live in a world that is built for the strong at the expense of the weak and it has been this way for far too long].
In my humble opinion it is time to change the way we go about things.
So what will it take for me to be the change I would like to see in the world??
As I said, I am just a man! A man among billions of other man and women.
Well, the truth is the only way that I can change the world is by changing myself and my attitude towards it.
I am not a President or Prime Minister or King or Queen!
My influence on the world extends only to those with whom I am able to interact on a daily basis! The everyday men and women around me! Those of you who take the time to read this! My family! My friends! My local community. These are the people I can influence and have an effect on so these are the people on whom I will focus my attention.
There has been much talk lately among the steemit community regarding using the platform for charitable purposes and whether or not this should be regulated in some way by the community. There are even some suggestions that inviting already established, registered charities such as Unicef onto the platform would be a good thing as it would instill a greater level of trust from those who would like to help. I am not of this opinion! Rather I would suggest that we have a unique opportunity through steemit to make a massive difference in the world by our own actions.
I am not a rich man. Quite the opposite in fact! I am actually not as concerned with money as most others are and only so much in that I require a certain amount of it to live my life without discomfort for myself or my family! I would love to be in a financial position to help others but I am not so there is only so much I can do in this respect.
We are all in a battle for survival and it is not surprising that our attitude to money and looking after our own is the way it is.
Some would say that this is natural! I again do not see things this way! I KNOW that we have a plentiful world that can sustain us all comfortably. The trouble is we are caught up in a dog eat dog mentality that has been sold to us by those within our society who have the power and influence to convince us this is so and who maintain their power and influence by keeping us convinced of this.
Unless we stop following the path that has been laid out for us and begin making our own, we will soon find ourselves in an empathy and compassion free world.
This scares me!!
I do not intend to follow the path that others have laid before me! I intend to make my own path in life.
So, with that being said I would like to demonstrate how I can be the change that I wish to see in the world.
My plan is very simple!
Below are a series of photographs that I took yesterday morning.
I woke up very early and went out into my local community armed only with a camera, a litter picker and some rubbish bags! For almost two hours I went around my local area and collected as much litter as I could.
I plan on doing this at least once a week from now on.
You may be confused as to how I expect to change the world by doing something as small as collecting litter.
The truth is, in my opinion I am already having a positive effect on the world just by doing this.
But this is not how I intend to change my world.
Please have a look at my photos and then I will explain my intentions.
These are just a few photos I took and a small sample of the litter I collected.
You may be wondering how lifting some litter and making the streets of my city a little cleaner are going to change the world around me.
That is where steemit comes in....and you!!!
If you believe what I am doing is admirable and worth while then please upvote and resteem this post!
As I said I hope to do this at least once a week and if possible I would like to start every day in this way and post what I have done to steemit. I don't however intend to keep any of the (EDIT liquid) rewards that these posts make myself. Instead I intend to use the (EDIT liquid) rewards I receive from these posts to change someone else's life. Someone who needs a little help in getting their life back on track.
I have no idea if this is something that will be supported by the community at steemit but I am sure there are at least a few people who would be happy to support my idea!
If the posts only receive a small amount of (EDIT liquid) rewards then I will do what I can with that in order to help others as best as I can but if it is successful and has a decent amount of support I would like to think that the rewards would enable me to make a real impact on someone's life.
Ideally I would like to find someone who is having a hard time such as someone who is homeless and living on the streets. In this situation it can be very difficult to help yourself even when you are trying hard.
I want to focus all of my energy on that one person. I intend to use the rewards to change that persons life for the better, whilst also introducing them to steemit so that they can at some point be able to use the platform to improve their own lives and when that point is reached, I can turn my energies and focus to someone else.
Please do not be fooled into thinking that I am doing this for entirely benevolent reasons. I understand that by helping others I am also helping myself become a better man and member of my community.
I fully intend to document and provide proof that all of the rewards are going to this cause and not being kept by myself! To some degree I appreciate this will require an element of trust from the community and that will be for you to decide whether or not I am worth that trust but in reality all I am doing is posting a blog where I am picking up litter in my own city.
I am not asking you to donate money, simply reward me for my good deeds if you see them this way and it is my decision to use these rewards how I choose.
I choose to use them to help others!!
I would also say at this time that this example could be followed by anyone else who chooses to do so and if you decide that you would like to do something similar, please let me know and I will support you also!!!
I believe that steemit can change the way we do things in all aspects of our lives and if used correctly can be a benefit to the wider world in many ways.
I thank you very much for taking the time to read this post and if you believe this is a good idea then please consider resteeming it your own followers.
Together we can affect real change in the world!!
@tonyr!!
Such a great idea Tony, and actually I do think even little things such as cleaning up litter is impacting the world in a big way. But you're taking it an admirable step further, awesome :)
:) I've just gotten back from my second morning of collecting litter and will be posting later on but you are right @dreemit! Even something as simple as this makes a difference. There are of course people who work for the council who do this job anyway but it is not an every day thing, more like once a fortnight or so, so I am making a difference in the meantime by making the streets (a little) cleaner and I also am taking some satisfaction in doing so that I wasn't really expecting.
I can't wait to actually make a difference in someones life in a positive way though. This will be really satisfying I think and as I said in the post I am doing this for myself also.
I do wish there was some way of using ALL of the rewards from the post though without having to power down. I want to keep my steem power so that I can have a bigger influence in curating and stuff. I spoke to Scott and he said the only way would be to power down. :(
Any suggestions??
I hope your day is going as well as mine is so far!! :)
Hi Tony,
I wish you the very best of success in your project!
😄😇😄
Thank you so much @creatr!
Please forgive me I have nott had as much time as I would like to follow my feed but I did notice you resteeming the post by our friend @gavvet and intend to read it as soon as possible in readiness for your response! :)
As always I hope you are having an excellent day!!!
Great article! upvoted resteemed and added to #steemian-angels 🐦😇
Thank you so much @cryptofrygirl! You are very kind to resteem my post and having had a look at #steemian-angels, I am very honored that you have included me. Also for listing all of those who have helped by upvoting my post. You are doing a great job by bringing other users attention to the good works that are being done on the platform and i commend you for doing so. You seem like a very kind and thoughtful girl yourself and I am delighted to be your latest follower. :)
Thank you so much for the support and for the great job you are doing! I hope that what I am trying to do is successful and would appreciate your continued support which I am keen to reciprocate in any way I can. I will of course resteem the post in which you have highlighted my post and if there is anything else I can do to help then please let me know and I will be happy to oblige! :)
Hope your day is going well my friend and well done!!
Thank you! it was a blessing to find your post and know that there are such honorable kindhearted souls trying to help change the world and better humanity. that is my dream for #steemian-angels to connect us all in that awakening and revolutionize that which is so needed in society. John Lennon said it best in his song "Imagine" and i firmly believe in those words!
Thank you @cryptofrygirl! Those words are indeed inspirational but having been written 30 odd years ago and heard repeatedly over generations, the words seems no closer to fruition now than they were then and when words as beautiful as these can not affect change, what hope do the rest of us have of finding the right words?
I remain positive and resolute that one day we will know what it is to be true men and women!
Hope your day is going great and well done again on your own fabulous efforts to affect positive change in the world! Thank you!!
I hope this project does well so you can change a life or two for the better. My vote isn't worth much but I have this friend...
That's okay SOS I brought him to the attention of a non-stingy friend, hahaha! Check out this post now, NICE!
Cheers bro for the randowhale vote! 7% upvote. Very nice! :)
Well said my friend! I've always believed that small things can have a huge impact. Good luck with everything!!
I agree @justinb43! when you can't make a big difference, make a little one instead! :)
Thanks a lot for the comment and for taking the time to read my post buddy!
It is very much appreciated!
Absolutely my friend! You've sure got a follow from me, excited to see your future posts!
Thank-you for doing your small part to change the world.
If we all contributed the little bit that we can, things will get better.
I am just a simple man of simple means @canadian-coconut but if I can find a way to have a positive impact on the world then so can a lot of others. Hopefully as things progress and others can see that I am making a difference this will inspire others to do likewise.:)
I can't wait to be in a position to go out and find someone to help and share this experience with my friends on steemit! :)
Congratulations once again on reaching 1000 followers! A fantastic and much deserved achievement!! :)