I Believe, Therefore We Can

I Believe, Therefore We Can
Originally uploaded by lorenzodom

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi

November 24, 2008, New York City:

I Believe, Therefore We Can

Lately, I wake up in the morning and I think to myself, “This is a tough time to think positively in.”

But then I realize, “That’s exactly when optimism counts most,” and I put my legs over the bed and place my feet firmly on the ground.

This morning, with that sort of resolve, I got up and made my usual three cups of espresso. After doing a little work, I grabbed my towel and rushed to get in the bathroom to take my shower.

After 60 seconds of a cold rush of water I realized, “There’s no hot water.” I didn’t get upset, because I figured that it wasn’t just our apartment that didn’t have hot water, and I was confident that it would be resolved by the time I came back home.

Moreover, I had just taken my midnight shower 6 hours earlier.

Thus, knowing that my morning shower was primarily just a refresher, I quickly combed my hair, brushed my teeth, got dressed and ran off to work.

Turning about the corner I noticed all the magazines in the window of the local bodega with President-elect Obama smiling brightly on the cover. I smiled back, thinking “Finally, America has a true leader in place.”

My stride pepped up a little and a few feet further I passed one of the regular charity solicitors, someone from something like the “NY Housing Development Project” or other, who was saying, “You can make a difference! Yes, you can!,” an obvious reference to Obama’s political campaign rhetoric.

As a New Yorker, one of our most immediate and frequent thoughts is to question the legitimacy of all the panhandlers on the street, regardless of the credentials that they have hanging on their necks.

This time however, I was infused with more confidence than doubt.

I was happy to hear that people were mimicking the President-elect, and adopting his optimistic rhetoric.

It has been so long since we actually had a real leader in the White House, 8 years in fact, that it is a great feeling to have someone at the helm that instills confidence in the people, for the people, despite the dire climate that we are all facing.

Thus, even though the hot water wasn’t working in my apartment; even though I need to find another flatmate within the next week to help pay next month’s rent; even though my bills are piling up and the expenditures of the holiday season are looming; even though my nine-year old was crying yesterday because he doesn’t have a cell phone like “everyone else,” and even though I’m having to make a lot of tough decisions on how and where and with whom I need to cut back my spending on and with—I’m still feeling confident that we’ll get through this alive, if not—better off.

In fact, if anything, I truly believe that the more intelligent and prudent of us will thrive amidst the crisis, that therein we will find an opportunity to improve our lives, our selves and hopefully, the lives of others as well, if only because we find ourselves spending more time with them.

I believe that many of us will choose to spend more time inside, rather than outside our homes in a frivolous pursuit of happiness. We will find more ways to entertain each other and will get to know each other better than ever before, if only because we will no longer can afford the mass entertainment that usually serves to distract us.

In turn, I believe that many of us will begin spending more time with our books, our friends, our families and ourselves.

In turn, I believe that we will learn to bide our time in new (or renewed old) ways that are much more self-reliant, much more meaningful and ultimately, much more fulfilling, if only because it means that we won’t be relying on complete strangers to amuse us.

In turn, I believe that many of us will spend more time figuring out what we really want from life, in turn making an effort to realize our greatest hopes and dreams, in turn making this country and the world a better place.

And in turn, I believe that, together, we can and will make a difference. Yes, we can.


"Think globally, act locally." Maybe David Brower, maybe Rene Dubos

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Other thoughts can be found at The Art of Living.

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