Thinking about . . . decreasing worldsuck

[pegkerr]

I have been thinking rather obsessively about this the last three days.

Longtime readers of this Livejournal know that I sometimes ruminate here about what I should be when I grow up. Which is both rather funny and sad, since I'm going to be 49 on my next birthday. I thought for many years that what I wanted to be was a writer, which (I assumed) meant a writer of original, professionally published fiction. Well, I've done that, and done it well, if I do say so myself, but the creative part of my brain hasn't been cooperating enough to allow me to do that for awhile. This caused me great pain for a long time (see my entries tagged "writers block"--there are a LOT of them.) I think I finally figured out the reason why the original fiction intended for professional publication stopped--although, who knows, in five years I may surprise myself and get back to it. Not holding my breath, though. I started to realize that the larger question is, what is my vocation? My life's work, if you will (and yes, I realize that doesn't necessarily mean it's what I do to earn my living). I've wrestled with that question in this LJ, too, particularly here and here.

A lot of thoughts have come together in my mind about this the last few days. Some conversations with kijjohnson who is wrestling with her own questions, now that she has been laid off. Going back to see my therapist, after several years away. He is the one who gave me the assignment to figure out what I do well. On that one, I just was lazy and asked you (and was genuinely startled and touched at all the heartwarming answers--thank you!) One of the things I discussed with my therapist at that meeting was how my thinking about writing fic for publication has been evolving and, in perhaps a related way, how my thinking about my day job has been evolving, too. Part of it is simple gratitude that I have a day job (with health insurance!) at all, since Rob has been laid off. But more than that, I started applying some of the reading I've been doing about vocation at work. I read about a woman who scrubbed floors at hospitals, and when asked what she did for a living, she said she helped the sick. I read about a creative man who was the manager at an art framing store who was happy with his work, because he said his job was to help people display their own creative endeavors. I read about a man who worked for a moving company who said that his vocation was to decrease the stress for families when they moved. If you think about it that way . . . how do I serve a vocation by working as a legal secretary? If you look at it that way, it's not so much that I type insurance paperwork, it's that I assist six attorneys by decreasing their stress, helping them accomplish their projects. At the time I was thinking about all this, one of the people I worked for suddenly underwent some serious upheaval in his life, and he really needed me to decrease his stress in a way that he's seldom needed before. I suddenly saw that I was assisting him that way, and once I realized that . . . well, it felt pretty good.

And then there's the thinking I've been doing in the last year watching several projects: Obama's election, and particularly watching how the Transition team is implementing things at http://change.gov. Getting involved as a microlender with Kiva.org. Taking a look at Google's Project 10^100 contest (see an explanation here). Project 4 Awesome, by the Vlogbrothers (the Brotherhood 2.0 guys, John and Hank Green, the originators of the Nerdfighters).

It's all interconnected, I've suddenly been thinking in the past three days. John and Hank Green, the ones who pointed me to Kiva.org, have put it into words as: "We want to Decrease World Suck." ("We're Nerdfighters We fight against suck....we fight awesome...We fight using our brains, our hearts, our calculators and our trombones.") The genius of this as a vocation is that it's so flexible. That's why John and Hank have turned it over to the Nerdfighters, and said, okay, run with it! What can you do to decrease worldsuck? It's exactly the same thing that Andrew Slack is doing over at The Harry Potter Alliance. It's why Obama set his organization up as a grassroots movement, modeled on, well, community organizing, trusting people to see the work and carry it forward, from the ground up. It's why people have been responding to the election by saying, what can I do now, to help get our country back on its feet? It's what Wellstone was trying to do, and it's what the Wellstone Action is trying to carry forward. It's what the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater is trying to do, and Playing for Change. It's Teach for America, and the Peace Corps, and Bread for the World, and the Search Institute, and Hippo Water Rollers and the Life Straw, and so much else. It's St. Martins Table and projects to create and distribute solar cookers in Africa. It's the guy who wrote Three Cups of Tea, who's building schools for girls in Afghanistan. It's paying it forward. It's keeping a heart of flesh in a world that tries to put in its place a heart of stone. It's raising kids and cleaning up the environment and making the world a better place.

Tell me what you are doing personally (or an organization that you like that works) to decrease world suck.

Edited to add: Apparently, the Nerdfighters are a subgroup over at Kiva. I've joined the group. I've also joined the Decrease Worldsuck Foundation over at Facebook.

Comments

[alabastard.livejournal.com]

I work in Biotechnology, for a company that makes rare medicinals that our patients literally cannot live without. This company affects the lives of so many, and that can make one's day go by a little easier.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

THAT is really cool.

[naomikritzer]

Ed and I donate money to an organization called the International Medical Corps. I found out about the IMC from a college friend whose father worked for them -- Jason's father was one of the first western doctors to arrive in Kabul after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. There are a lot of international relief organizations, but things I particularly like about the IMC:

* They provide immediate relief, but with a strong orientation towards building self-sufficiency. In other words, part of what they do is to train local people to provide services, and help to rebuild the infrastructure.

* They focus on mental health care, not just physical health care. Both in terms of providing treatment for PTSD in areas that have seen disasters, wars, and other traumas, but in terms of teaching local providers about medications to treat depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.

* They recognize that maternal and infant health are pretty much inseparable. In emergency situations, there are a lot of organizations that respond to malnourished mothers with malnourished infants by having them wean, if they're breastfeeding, and give the babies infant formula; IMC provides breastfeeding support, feeding the mothers and NOT having them wean (or supplement) as in developing nations this can be utterly disastrous for the baby.

* They are extraordinarily efficient; they do almost no fundraising (they do grantwriting, instead, and are supported heavily by the Gates Foundation). As a corollary to this, they don't bug us by calling us up, they don't ask us for more money constantly throughout the year, and they don't sell our name.

I don't have any medical training, so I really can't join the IMC to go out and provide health care. Even if I did, international relief is not a practical career choice for someone with little kids. But, we donate to them, and I tell people about them because I think they're an awesome group. Decreasing world suck is a good description of their central mission.

More locally, I volunteer every week in Molly's classroom.

[lilisonna.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I'll take a look at them. I may swap our Doctors Without Borders donation over.

[naomikritzer]

Doctors Without Borders is a good charity, too, but I like IMC better in part because of the lack of fundraising.

FYI, it was Jason Goodman's dad who went to Kabul.

[lilisonna.livejournal.com]

One of the things that we do is to decrease world suck is donate a steady stream to several selected charities. I also have money constantly in rotation at Kiva, and I do my best to help those in my community through a variety of means. I'm good at hospitality, so I help decrease world suck by having people over for dinner, throwing good and interested parties, and generally allowing people to enjoy themselves. Is it a cure for world hunger? No. But I do think it helps at least a little bit.

[littlecatfeet.livejournal.com]

I work as a fundraiser for Bread for the City, a really awesome local (to Washington, DC) non-profit that provides, food, clothing, and legal medical and social services to low-income people. We serve a lot of people - more than 10,000 each month - but the most important part of the organization to me is that everyone does their best to embody our motto of "Dignity and Respect."

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

In my volunteer work, I teach meditation in prison, and help people deal with the reality of their lives. For pay, I teach literature in community college, and help people learn to communicate with a wider part of the world, as well as understand themselves in new ways (and find some new pleasures).

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

This past month I've been trying to meditate during my midafternoon break at work. I figure it's something that I really need.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

It really helps me and most people I know who stick with it.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

I help people learn English. Admittedly, I do it for profit and they're usually not underprivileged people or refugees or anything, but I'm still helping people from different cultures and countries understand each other and communicate with each other better, which I think definitely helps decrease worldsuck. And I started http://www.readableblog.com/ which is to help anyone with an internet connection work on English through self-study (I need to work on it more!).

I'm a little confused by this "we fight awesome" phrase, though. What? :P On board with the rest of it, though!

[moodyduck.livejournal.com]

I do volunteer restoration work at two sites near where I live. Basically we plant native plants and pull out non-native plants. It's the tiniest drop in the bucket, but it matters to birds and fish and turtles and frogs, some of which have no where else to go. And maybe these places and the efforts people put into them will spark something in a schoolkid here or there, and lead them to care.

I also donate to the local foodbank and rescue mission when I can. I wish I could do more for people, directly. I've been a reading tutor in the past. But I'm an ecologist, so I work where my heart is, and hope it matters.

[airemay.livejournal.com]

I love One Million Ways. It is an organization based on the idea that kindness is contagious, and good deeds can change someone's life. They recently went to Ghana and started a drama club at an orphanage. They started a scholarship program for that school and others. Their most recent campaign is "This is a Desk." They want to send desks to schools in Africa and South America. I know a lot of the people behind this organization. They are all wonderful, giving people.

Personally, this past month, I have been helping to put on a Christmas show for the troops at our local navy base. I designed the poster and program, and took pictures during the event. The families who attended seemed to really enjoy it. We also gave out stuffed animals to the children afterwards.

[nmsunbear.livejournal.com]

I help people, many of whom have been seriously wounded by the religion of their youth, feel welcome at a place where they can explore their own spirituality and religious beliefs (as well as find a community of like-minded seekers).

That's the micro, the level on which I usually see it, the one person at a time approach. And it's enough by itself. But at the same time I am helping to grow a liberal religious movement I believe in, that I hope can change the world in larger ways.

Thanks for this question, because sometimes I get caught in the minutiae, the have-you-returned-your-survey-yet, and forget what I'm really doing. :)

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I was pleased and flattered that you mentioned In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater since I serve on the board of directors there. I also do development work for them, and I wonder if any of your local readers would like to know more about HOBT and the ways we build community through performance and involvement. I would be delighted to provide a personal introduction.

B. and I also donate to them and to many other organizations that we feel do good work. Most of these are local or are connected to his profession.

In the past I have taken on other volunteer responsibilities although I don't have any just at the moment. I am looking for my next opportunity.

K.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I love HOTB, as you well know. And yes, I don't doubt that you donate elsewhere, and I know that you volunteer.

(It's something to take to your next Board of Directors meeting: "yes, I have discovered that the community says that we are important because we decrease worldsuck.")

[magentamn.livejournal.com]

I love HotB because they not only decrease worldsuck, they greatly add to the beauty of the world, and more specifically, to the beauty of the communuty I live in. My life would be poorer without the May Day Parade.

[ame-chan.livejournal.com]

I pay it forward when I can and I never consider the debt paid in full.

I don't know what "it" is. It has such a broad definition, really, because sometimes it's money, sometimes it's a ride or a kind word or something like Kiva or Doctors Without Borders, I just pay it forward when I can, to the extent that I can.

[lavendersleeves.livejournal.com]

I direct a charity musical (in Japan) that raises money to build schools in Papua New Guinea. We collect new-used school supplies, too, and in this way help improve education in a remote part of the country (no cars, no roads, no electricity or running water) that might otherwise be forced to sell land/ lumber/ natural resources to logging and mining companies. We help them stay self-sufficient, promote eco-tourism, educate the kids there about Japan and educate Japanese kids about PNG. Furthermore, the performance is in English and Japanese, which allows people in our prefecture to practice their English, and helps foreigners and locals to connect on a community level. Last year we also raised money for the Chuetsu earthquake region, which destroyed hundreds of homes.

I just wish I had time to sleep...

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I am about to go make chicken soup and fresh bread and broccoli salad for a person you know who is in distress, so I don't have time to talk about all of our favorite charities and good deeds, but I will say that I like the Center for the Victims of Torture here in town. They do good work domestically and abroad, trying to both stop torture and aid those whose lives have been damaged by it. Website here.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

We went over and shoveled their walk and driveway yesterday.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I heard, and was glad of it.

[redbird]

A small thing, but I do think it matters: I give people directions. Not "here's how you should run your life" but "yes, this train goes to Brighton Beach" and "Chelsea is that way, but you'll have to walk a couple of miles" and "Non, prochain station" and the like [usually in English, occasionally Spanish, rarely in my minimal French]. I've been doing this a long time, in part because I seem to be easy for strangers with questions to approach; somewhere along the line, I started approaching the occasional bewildered-looking person and asking if they needed help.

Seldom or never is it life-changing, but it reduces stress and saves energy: even if what you want is to walk around the city, you often have a neighborhood in mind or people to meet.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Oh! My little mitzvah -- I always carry extra train schedules, explain people's routes to them, and give the schedules away.

[redbird]

I don't make a point of carrying extra schedules or maps, but I cheerfully give away train and bus maps when I have them, because I know where to get more, free. (One thing I find disconcerting about the otherwise excellent Montreal transit system is that there don't seem to be any printed maps, either free or for sale. There are nice circuit-diagram style maps on the train and station walls, but apparently nobody at the STM has thought of distributing physical copies.)

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Wow, Peg, this is a good one.

I am a jack-of-all-trades technical nerd. I had been working for a number of software companies for the last 8 years. The first, I served the interests of the nations newspapers, and that was good. I "helped them get the news out." I was proud of that.

Then I helped big insurance companies pay people in really hard to understand ways. That was less palatable. Then I did the same thing only for crooked employers. That was bad enough to put me in therapy last year.

In April, I took a job with one of the state managed care organizations. In Massachusetts, we have mandatory health care for people under 3x the poverty line, and all children. That is what my non-profit organization does. It does not matter what I specifically do, because as an organization:

We help people who can't afford to get their own health care coverage to not only get the coverage, but get to the doctor and have someone listen to them. They get the care they need because we work toward that, every day.

That's not our mission statement, just the synopsis I usually give at parties. As an organization we're a subsidiary of a small local hospital group--who is 20 million low on budget needs for 2009 because they don't turn anyone away at the door, and still manage according to our regulatory agencies to give excellent, wonderful, individualized care.

I get paid a little less than someone with a comparable job who works for a faceless corporation (especially one that makes a good profit). I don't get bonuses. My benefits are so-so. But at least I know what I do, every day. We help sick people. That's worth something.

[stinaleigh.livejournal.com]

www.adoptaclassroom.org

Teacher register their needs and all donations go directly to the teacher you choose. All overhead is paid for by the sponsoring companies. You can give money to your children's teacher AND get the tax deduction.

Teachers spend an average of $1200/year of their own money for their classrooms and that sucks. So this reduces the suck for people that are vital to the village that raises our children.

eta: I also reduce peoples stress by helping them complete their projects/presentations or improve the look and comfort of their office.

[daharyn.livejournal.com]

I teach people how to better express themselves and communicate with others. I served in AmeriCorps. I'm a Kiva lender. And I try to show others the ways in which poetry can educate us about the world.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

I help software developers work together a little more smoothly and a little more kindly.

[edit: And I can't talk about the specifics, but we are helping decrease worldsuck.]

[parsleigh.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about what I do at work and I'm trying to think about it in the way you are as a legal secretary. I work for a local branch of a life insurance company and I am the office manager. I spend so much time putting out fires and getting stressed out that I don't think enough about the good things I do. I, too, try to minimize the amount of stress for my boss and the other sales reps by making sure that things go as smoothly as possible...of course, that often adds to my stress, but I will try to think of it differently..perhaps that will help me.

Also, I handle most of the death claims that come thru the office. I am often the one who gets the call from the family and I work with them to make things happen as quickly as possible. Often they think they have to call the moment someone has died (you don't) and they are in tears or shock from grief. I try to be as much of a comfort to them as I can so that they can at least feel assured that their insurance will be there for them. I am the one who starts their claim and coordinates the paperwork for them, often arranging for a rep to visit them in their home to deliver checks or get signatures on forms. Sometimes it is just heart wrenching, but usually rewarding when the claim is settled. Many people think insurance and think bad things but I see the real good that comes from it and the pain that comes when someone realizes they don't have enough, or the family finds out that mom or dad had to cash in their policies and there isn't enough to cover a burial.

Anyway, it is helpful to break down what you do sometimes to realize your worth. Thanks.

[magentamn.livejournal.com]

As I indicated in my comment to minnehaha, I think adding to the beauty in the world is important as well. There is so much beauty around us that we don't see. I love pointing out a full moon, or a sunset, or a perfect flower. "The world is too much with us, late and soon", one of my favorite lines. We are so focused on the bread, we have forgotten the roses.

You add beauty to the world, and to LJ.

[pameladean]

I'm a Kiva lender, and I've been really pleased with the various pleas for help on LJ recently (well, not pleased that people need help, of course) because they're only asking for small amounts, so it's possible to donate to many of them.

Most of my effort to decrease worldsuck is in my writing, though. Not everybody can take Tam Lin to the hospital during labor, because the book annoys them, so I have to keep writing more books so more people will have something to hold onto during bad times.

P.

[aome.livejournal.com]

It's just a bunch of small things, but we do our best. I made four sets of fleece hats/mittens for kids at Two's preschool, asking the teacher to hand them out to families in need. (I wish I'd had time to make more.) I stocked up on art supplies during back-to-school sales, as well as some bargain Scholastic book offerings throughout the fall and donated them during holiday charity drives. We compost our vegetable/fruit leavings, and reuse/recycle as much as possible (including participating in Freecycle). I participated in livelongnmarry as both a bidder and offer-er. We are teaching our children social tolerance, as well as compassion for those who are less fortunate. They voluntarily donated a portion of their summer lemonade-stand funds to the Red Cross for China Quake relief. We donated to Team In Training in memory of my cousin who was killed this fall - they support Leukemia and Lymphoma research and cures. And we've lent some money to friends in major need.

I'm glad to hear you've been able to find more meaning in your dayjob. And ... do you mean to tell me I've missed a YEAR of John and Hank videos?? I know they had talked about continuing on a less-obsessive basis after 12/31 last year, but they never re-surfaced on brotherhood2 so I assumed they'd just given up. Wah! I'm so sorry to have missed all that.

[katakanadian.livejournal.com]

I am someone who is lucky enough to get to follow a life dream into work. When I first started gymnastics at age 11 I knew I wanted to be coach and now I'm been doing that for over 2 decades although it's only been the last few that I haven't needed at least one additional job.

Over the last few years I have really come to appreciate that I have a role to play in raising these kids I coach. I have zero maternal instinct but I like having influence in how I constantly point out effort and integrity matter more that perfection or winning. I teach kids to consider others. I remind kids they are not superior and entitled to more do fortune of birth. I show them that mistakes are steps in learning.

Most of the time I feel that the world is going in the wrong direction but I hope I help keep the memory alive that there are others ways of doing things.

[longstrider.livejournal.com]

I'm a public librarian. I help people every day with job hunting, learning to use a computer, finding books, etc.

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

Well, for my (hetero) wedding I got a membership to the HRC. :)

In addition to that, I'm in the middle of applying to law school (ok, the end -- just waiting for ONE MORE LETTER) and, once I finish, I'll be working in public law in some fashion. I'd like to make the world suck less that way. Hopefully. Long-term plans, but they're rolling.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I'm self-employed. People call me and tell me all their computer problems then I give them advice or go to their houses and offices to fix their problems. I'm not getting rich doing it, but it is great to do something where I see the direct results of helping people.

I also do a lot of volunteer work for our local bird-watching club. I lead several field trips each year, mostly directed at beginning birders because I enjoy helping people to learn about birds and the environment around them. I generally lead a walk for our county parks system each year and sometimes I do them for various community groups as well. And I edit the club newsletter which I try to make informative and educational.

For what it is worth, I don't think it is particularly sad that you are still questioning what you want to be when you grow up. I think people who stop asking that are the ones who often get stuck in a rut where they just keep doing what they're doing without growing and changing.

[mswyrr]

I tutor at my community college. I have a learning disability, so I've done a lot of research into study/test taking strategies that will help me out, and I LOVE it when I can find out what's causing a student's learning block and then not just helping them go over the subject but tailor techniques to their needs. I do get paid for it, but I picked it out of all the other ways I could make a buck because I feel like it has more than monetary value to it.