This email is part 2 (of 3) of my response to the question below.
Dear Ryan,
I am a college student.
I see so many problems in the world (homelessness, hunger, racism, etc.).
I want to use my career and my life to help.
Honestly, though, I don’t know what to do, or even where to start.
What advice do you have?
Cynthia
#3 – FIND COMMUNITY.
We fetishize the lone warrior battling injustice alone.
That image makes for good movies, but fruitless lives.
Change ALWAYS happens in community.
Community sustains the soul when it is ready to quit.
Community is the whetstone that sharpens the ax of your talents.
Community has the collective power necessary to break through the status quo.
Not all communities are the same, though. Some are a better fit for you than others.
I was fortunate enough to find my community when I was 21.
It is hard to describe the experience, but I’ll try a metaphor:
Imagine that you are the only person who sees rainbows.
Every time you point at a rainbow, people look at you like you are nuts, telling you there is nothing there.
You learn to stop talking about rainbows.
You even begin to question whether rainbows even exist, thinking, “perhaps they are just in my head.”
This goes on for years… maybe decades.
Then one summer afternoon you emerge from your house after a hard rain to a sky painted with an arc of brilliant colors.
You walk out onto the wet street and your eyes follow the reds, the blues, the violets from the northern horizon all the way across the zenith of the sky to the southern horizon.
Then you notice something peculiar.
An old woman to your left stands in the street, looking up into the sky.
Her eyes express awe.
Her mouth is agape.
A single tear runs down her cheek.
For 10 minutes the two of you stand in silence, necks craned at the refracted light.
When the rainbow fades back to uniform blue, the old woman gives you a knowing smile before speaking…
“There are others who see rainbows. Do you want to meet them?”
That is what it is like to find your community.
If that metaphor seems a bit melodramatic or even nutty, then just know that when you find your community, you will know it.
Practically speaking, if you find yourself working for an organization that does not align with your values, move on.
People think they need to choose a “cause” or “career” carefully.
It is more important that you choose your “community” carefully.
Next week will be the final installment of this email series.
Peace,
Ryan
