With everything that’s going on in the lives of people today, we seem a lot more focused on one little niche that we all call our own. It’s good to have a niche, but has it gone too far?
What I’m talking about is people being so focused on their lives or their bubbles that they forget about the big picture and lose sight of where they really are in the grand scheme of things.
It’s almost as if we’ve become like sheep, whose only concerns are the sheep closest to us and the little bit of grass near us that we call ours, while not paying attention to our shepherds for the most part, giving them license to do almost whatever they want without much thought on our part nor consequence on theirs. In this, we become divided into our own groups, making ourselves our enemies.
The thing is, I think we get so focused on things like new phones and other toys that we forget about what’s really important, like helping other people, making a difference, and taking initiative where others won’t. Want to know why we have bad leaders? Because good ones don’t step up. Maybe it’s time for us to sober up.
We did this back in the 1920s, being carefree, being caught up in the moment and not looking to our future. But more importantly, we didn’t look at anything other than ourselves and our lives; we didn’t look at how we can influence the lives of others. Then the Stock Market Crash of 1929 hit and people sobered up. They realized that we all needed to work together and that people couldn’t just be concerned with their own lives anymore and not care. Sure, there was the aspect of putting food on the table and immediate wants, and that dominated many, but that generation learned that it takes hard work and critical thinking to get things done. They also learned that ignoring problems doesn’t help either.
Some may think they can’t do anything, but that’s not true. It may seem like it, but if people had prescribed to that mindset, we would have lost World War II. All people can make a difference, but will they?
The movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” is one of the best examples of this. In summary, the main character, George Bailey, thinks that everyone else would be better off if he was dead, so he decides to end his life by jumping off a bridge. Before he can, though, someone else, an angel named Clarence, jumps into the water, and George is forced to save him. When they’re both drying off later, George wishes he’d never been born. And he gets his wish.
George gets to see what life would be like without him, and to his surprise, it isn’t great; in fact, it’s nightmarish for him. He has trouble accepting that his wish has actually come true, so everyone not knowing him really spooks him, but something even more does that; everything and everyone is a lot worse off without George Bailey. He gets to see that it was because of him that the town wasn’t taken over by the greedy Mr. Potter, the villain in the movie, and that because of his actions and relationships, marriages weren’t broken, people had decent places to live, and even lives were saved.
In the end, after he’s seen quite enough of his wish, it is reversed; and through the help of others, his problems are abated. George Bailey learns he really had a wonderful life, and he helped everyone else have wonderful lives too. He made a difference just by being in the lives of other people, even if he didn’t realize it.
My point to all of you is to realize it and to capitalize on it, not just for your own gain but for the gain of others. You may feel like you’re not influencing anyone, but you are. Everyone you talk to and come into contact with is influenced in some way, shape, or form. Don’t lose sight of what’s really important by getting distracted. Be a George Bailey and make a difference.
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