Contributions

I've often thought about what my life contributes to the world. I know it is a grandeose thought, egocentric, but still, what contribution could an ordinary person, with ordinary talents, bring to this world.

Is it simply enough to be, as Gandhi said, "the change you want to see?" Is it enough to be part of the solution and not part of the problem by working in social services a good part of my work life? Is it enough to donate money to helping causes? Is it enough to have loved some people? Is it enough to have loved some deeply and specially?

I don't have an answer. Which is the answer, I guess. If I can't answer those questions with a yes, then I am saying no, it's not enough. I've asked my self this question throughtout my life, beginning as a teenager. It was a different question then, more like, "what will I contribute to this world," or "what do I have to contribute to this world." Now, its, what HAVE I contributed to the world?

I'm also not sure what "enough" is? Did Gandhi do enough by being the change he wanted to see? Did Martin Luther King, Jr. do enough by sacrificing his life for equality of black people? Did Konas Salk do enough by finding a vaccine against polio and saving many lives? What is enough? Did Paul McCartney do enough by having at least half the people on this planet knowing at least one of his songs?

I guess all this was provoked by the viewing of the documentary "Born into Brothels." My friend Christi brought it over this weekend and we watched it. It's a very moving film about a group of children, all of whom are the children of sex workers, living in the red light district of Calcutta, India. Zana Briskie, founder of Kids With Cameras, brought cameras to this small group of children, taught them how to take photographs, gave them opportunities to explore photography as art, learn about it, do it, and market it. The money raised has been spent on their education. She made a profound difference in the life of a group of children that had very limited options for their future.

Zana Briskie is not Gandhi, King, Salk or McCartney. Her contribution is far more intimate in scope than theirs. Yet, her contribution is undeniable and "enough." And that is the yardstick by which I am measuring my life today.