Hint: If You Want to Fix the World and You Are (Sigh) a Mere Mortal, Think about the Difference
One makes me feel powerful. I definitely know best. I’ll make it happen. I’ll stop it/her/him/them.
One makes me part of something. It is likely to require cooperation, tact, even humility to effect change and affect outcomes.
You’ve got it! The verbs are “control” and “contribute.”
Control
One of life’s most important lessons is knowing how little we control – outside ourselves, that is. In fact, it turns out that our selves are the only things we do control. Even the individual humans and animals that we raise and nurture are beyond our control. We can help them survive and thrive through our support in all kinds of ways, but control is beyond our power. They, too, each have a self. As to events outside ourselves, even the most threatening – the ones that really happen and the ones we fear may happen — the realization that by ourselves we are powerless to control them is eventually followed by anxiety, anger, and frustration in the face of our helplessness. A positive outcome, however, is found by many through banding with others – becoming activists.
Contribute
I have so much to give! Every idea and ideal, every cause and effort that speaks to my heart and intellect can benefit from my personal action. Most amazing is knowing that I’ll never know effects I may have on others. Once in a great while, a young person may tell you, “I never forgot what you said to me,” but that’s just the icing on the cake of life.
TR