I selected the phrases for my coloring book to say what I thought might be most important to others within the activist community.  But because the coloring book simply has the coloring pages without commentary, I thought I might use this venue to elaborate a bit on why I chose to include what I did.

“Be a force for good.”

It’s very easy to lose sight of your end goal when the process taps into our emotional centers.  Some of us tend to get focused on details, on small bits of the larger picture, and we derail ourselves in pursuit of those less important goals.  Some of us are easily detoured by our reactions to the reality around us, becoming inwardly focused instead of outwardly focused.  Some of us are quick to conflict with others who are, in the grand scheme, on our side but differ on smaller issues, giving more effort to besting our rivals than doing the important work at hand.

Our efforts should always be about doing the most good.  That’s not to say that the inner workings of the groups and movements of which we are a part are not important.  But they do, or should, take a back seat to the main goal of the work.

I selected the phrases for my coloring book to say what I thought might be most important to others within the activist community.  But because the coloring book simply has the coloring pages without commentary, I thought I might use this venue to elaborate a bit on why I chose to include what I did.

“It is better to do good than to be right.”

I chose this phrase for two reasons.

First, I think it should be obvious how much of the state of our world is due to people being so sure that they’re right, so committed to a rule or dogma or belief, that they’re rendered unable to see the harm being done to others.  This addiction to being right is what fuels the belief that the disadvantaged or downtrodden must have brought it on themselves or that they somehow deserve that suffering.  Those beliefs and feelings have to go together because they justify each other.

So when we seek to help others, are we trying to help them be right or are we just trying to help them?  Are we avoiding helping people who we think have made the wrong decisions or chosen the wrong side?  Are we worried that if we help people persist in being “wrong” that we aren’t doing enough to fight for what’s “right”?

Second, I chose this phrase for the coloring book because I see too many people afraid to take action because they’re afraid of getting it wrong somehow, of not doing the most effective thing or joining the most important cause.  In a world in need of a vast amount of change and good work, where do you start?

It’s a lot like those of us who look around at our homes knowing they need to be cleaned and choose not to clean at all because we don’t have time right then to really tackle the whole job.

Not every act of goodness will change the world.  But every act of goodness changes a bit of the world for someone.  And that is more important than having chosen the absolute perfect way to do good in the world.

I selected the phrases for my coloring book to say what I thought might be most important to others within the activist community.  But because the coloring book simply has the coloring pages without commentary, I thought I might use this venue to elaborate a bit on why I chose to include what I did.

“I am a small part of something big.”

We usually have grand visions when we undertake philanthropic endeavors or activism.  We want to change the world.  We want to solve problems much larger than us.  We want to make a difference.

The reality of the goal and the struggle to get there, however, all too often makes us feel powerless, ineffective, and insignificant.  No matter how much we do, how much we contribute, there is always more to be done.  What we can give alone is never enough.  In fact, what we can give as part of a larger group is very rarely enough.

But we can also look back and see how other people like us have actually caused positive change.  Their actions become part of our historical narrative.  We hold some of them up as heroes.

The truth is that they, too, were merely small parts of something much bigger.  Their small acts, continued over time and beside like-minded allies, changed the course of cultural development.  And they, too, wondered if their visions would ever become reality.

In a very real way, every new movement or mission is a continuation of a larger movement: the constant evolution of humanity.  It is as important as it’s ever been for each of us to do what we can, to do what we feel compelled and called to do, as a part of humanity’s march of progress.  Even if we cannot see, in this moment, how things will turn out, we have to remind ourselves that even small contributions make a difference eventually.

I selected the phrases for my coloring book to say what I thought might be most important to others within the activist community.  But because the coloring book simply has the coloring pages without commentary, I thought I might use this venue to elaborate a bit on why I chose to include what I did.

“I will listen when it hurts to hear.”

Doing good is difficult.  So much work undertaken with good intentions to benefit others runs up against the objections and criticisms of those who see the situation from a different point of view.  The more strongly we feel about the mission we see ourselves working towards, the harder it often is to hear those criticisms and adjust our approach or point of view.  It’s one thing to be criticized by those who think they have better methods or motivations, but it’s quite another to be criticized by those we’re working alongside or even those we’re attempting to aid.

On paper, I think most activists agree that the point of view of the communities needing aid are among the very most important perspectives to hear.  Insisting on indulging our own images of what is needed results in wasted resources, intrusive and destructive actions, and unmet needs.  Our first instincts are often wrong.  In the days after 9/11 many rushed to donate blood, only to realize later that there were few injured survivors and that the real need was support of rescue personnel.  Mission trips send inexperienced but enthusiastic Westerners to minister to disadvantaged people in far flung countries, but often end up impeding the work of qualified philanthropic organizations in the process.   But too often we push our own visions and agendas despite valid objections because we want our contributions appreciated, our strengths utilized, our efforts acknowledged.  We don’t want to be told that our efforts are not inclusive, that our good intentions aren’t really helping, that we’re simply standing in the way.

It’s vitally important, though, to keep our ears and hearts open to what is being said.  Philanthropic activity and activism requires an intimate relationship with reality in all its aspects, and our efforts suffer when we become defensive of our own perspective.  It’s more important to hear others tell us how we could be more effective than it is to hear others tell us when we’re doing well.