Yield

You’re driving down the street when suddenly you see a flashing light behind you and you hear a siren. What should you do? Apparently, some folks think to correct answer is step on the gas and try to beat the emergency vehicle, as you proceed on down the street. WRONG!

Let’s take just a moment to remember what it is that emergency vehicles do. An ambulance transports sick or injured people to hospitals and medical centers. More often than not, when an ambulance is involved, the patient is in urgent need of care and every minute counts. Fire trucks sometimes respond to medical calls and various random emergencies, but most of the time they are headed to fires, where once again, every minute counts. Police may be responding to any number of calls – a hostage situation for example, or a murder, robbery, or rape. Again, time is of the essence.

The flashing lights and sirens were developed to signal people that this is a vehicle that needs priority treatment. Please yield. Of course one very good reason for doing so is that it is the law, and a heavy fine can hit you for not yielding. The better reason though is that it is simply the right thing to do. Would you like someone to die because you blocked an ambulance? Would you like someone to lose their house because you didn’t let the fire truck through?

You can make all the difference in the world with just a bit of road courtesy. Yield to the first sound of a siren!

In OUR hands

This big old planet we live on, it is OUR responsibility. It's in OUR hands! On Earth Day one year I wrote here that "My goal is that EVERY day be Earth Day - that we care about our planet every single day of our lives." That is still my goal. What are YOU doing to help the earth?

Let me say a few things about this annual commemoration. Earth Day came about back in 1970 and has been on the calendar every year since. It's about planting trees, keeping our streets clean, divesting from fossil fuels, guarding against pollution, and so much more. At http://www.earthday.org/ you can learn about the history of this day and learn about numerous ways to help. Of course, the list is endless. Each one of us can think up more ways to keep our towns, our states, our country, and our planet safe and healthy. Like I said, it needs to be an everyday thing too, not just something we think about on Earth Day.

In 2024 there are so many things to be concerned with, but climate change and the health of our planet must be at the top of our list.  Some of the simplest things can make a huge difference, like not throwing litter out our car windows, watering the plants and trees in our great outdoors, and not wasting any of the precious resources of our world. Teaching our kids to respect the earth is important too. Each generation needs to do its part. 

I love to look at the beauty around us.  I love seeing the flowers and the trees and the mountains and the lakes.  Oh my!  What a beautiful world!  What a wonderful planet!  This fragile earth will only stay wonderful if we all do our part. Truly, it's in OUR hands.

Be Your Own Hero

I've talked here before about heroes - a lot.  I've asked on occasion who your heroes are and what you think makes a hero.  Having a hero in your life is a good thing, and there is no limit on how many heroes you have.  You can certainly have more than one hero.  Parents and siblings frequently make the list.

Show me a picture of a hero.  It's hard to do.  They come in all shapes and sizes!  Pull out a mirror.  Do you see a hero?

Something we don't give much thought to though is what we think of ourselves.  How do we view our own contributions?  Have we done good and courageous things?  Each of us cannot just have heroes and be heroes to others, we can also be our OWN hero!  I'm not talking about being puffed up and in love with ourselves.  You can be proud of yourself and still be humble.

Think about it.  Are you proud of things you have done?  Picture that person you consider a hero in your life.  How do they differ from you or do they differ at all?  What does your family think of you?  What do your friends think?  If you don't consider yourself a hero, there still is time - go do something heroic!

Please donate

The cashier at the corner store has a jar on the counter collecting for a local charity. The restaurant where you eat breakfast every day has a similar container. On top of that, folks (like me) are always asking for you to buy chocolate bars for a school project or to sponsor them in a fundraising walk-a-thon. Please DONATE! There is just no escaping it!

Sometimes it may seem like a pain in the butt, but money raised really makes a difference. Some projects and programs are funded solely by contributions. It actually feels good to know that you are being of help too.

Is it always possible to give? For most of us, the answer is no. Money does not grow on trees, and most of us have a limit to how much we can spend. (Of course, as we have talked about here in the past, there are other ways of giving too, like our time and our talent, but that's another matter).

If you really want to have funds to help others, there are a number of things you can do. The coins you get back as change from purchases, you might always set aside to donate. That afternoon cappuccino can be skipped occasionally and the money put to another use. You might do little fundraisers of your own, with your plan to give the proceeds to your favorite causes. Perhaps a bake sale or rummage sale. Got a bigger tax refund than you expected? Think about donating that unexpected money.

There are many ways to make a difference in this world, and donating is certainly one of them.

The list just keeps on growing

The list of ways to make a difference is endless.  From time to time I have shared some thoughts here.  Today I have some more!

 

Open the door for another person. Give blood. Bring flowers to work and share them with coworkers. Pay for the meal of the person behind you in the drive-through. As you go about your day, pick up trash. Call or visit a homebound person. Pay a compliment at least once a day. Leave a treat or handmade note of thanks for a delivery person or mail carrier.

 

Leave an extra-large tip for the waitperson (if you can afford to). Tell a bus or taxi driver how much you appreciate their driving. Give the gift of your smile. Draw names at work/school and have people bring a small gift or treat for their secret pal. Sponsor people in fundraising walk-a-thons.

 

The gift of sharing can be awesome too, so please do share your own ideas!  You can do it below in the comments section!

It's about US

Okay so this blog is NOT about me. Well who is it about then?

Good question.

I guess the easiest way to answer is to say it is about YOU.

No I don't mean you, the one person reading these words at the moment. I mean ALL of YOU. Every single person in the world, including me. (Yeah you got me - in that sense it IS about me. New name? Maybe I should call this it's not ONLY about me).

Anyway, the important thing is this is about making a difference in the world of ours, and that is something we all can do! We all have roles to play - every single one of us!  I need to do more.  You need to do more.  We ALL need to do more.

So, it's about US!

Be extreme

“Was not Jesus an extremist for love: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’ Was not Amos an extremist for justice: ‘Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.’ Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: ‘I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.’ Was not Martin Luther an extremist: ‘Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.’ And John Bunyan: ‘I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.’ And Abraham Lincoln: ‘This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.’ And Thomas Jefferson: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’

“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified.

“We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime - the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.”

These days our country is in bad shape for many reasons and a pandemic has turned the entire world upside down. We can't keep having business as usual. We need people who are leaders, like Dr King was, . Dr King was an extremist. So many of my friends are too. This is encouraging. There is so much to be done. I invite you to follow their lead!