This Tea Quote reminds me of what Gandi said “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”. One way I am being the change I would like to see in the world is by picking up garbage on the street, sidewalks, while strolling through parks est. That is my light, my example at which I live by and hope that others will follow. Taking an active role in change is the only way to get things done. You can’t just sit on the sidelines saying what you want to change. You must take the lead, be a go getter.
Taking charge or leading by example doesn’t have to be major look-at-me actions either, for those who shy from the limelight, start small. It could be something as simple as dropping a slip of paper into a suggestion box. That’s where I started. At my last job, a large company with thousands of employees, I noticed how much waste was produced every single day in the break room. Paper plates, plastic bottles, and my most loathed, Styrofoam, overflowed from the trash cans. It almost hurt my soul knowing all that would end up piled in a landfill somewhere for the next thousand years. So I took action. And all that was needed to start the ball rolling was a piece of paper that said “start recycling in the break rooms”. Within a week’s time there were three new receptacles in the various break rooms. Not only did that please me, but the quick response on it gave me the confidence to take a more direct approach. From then on I was very vocal about recycling and reminded people to use the new bins.
Getting my manager to use email to share documents rather than printed pages proved to be rather difficult, and even though it was an up heal battle I still fought it, day in and day out. I even became my team’s official paper recycler. I had a box near my desk where everyone would put unwanted papers (mostly from the print outs our manager loved) instead of in the trash can. So no matter what it is, how big or small, if you believe in something, let it be known! Share your light; action encourages it to grow brighter, so that one day it can light the whole world.
