Maybe the World Doesn't Always WANT to be Changed by a Salad?

"CHANGE THE WORLD ONE SALAD AT A TIME..."
...So commands this one-pound, over-packaged plastic box of San Marino Mix I recently purchased at the grocery store.
Really?
Change the world?
With a salad?
Cruelly, the verb tense is imperative; my salad is insisting I change the world one salad at a time. They're not even offering to do it themselves, or - by using the gerund participle tense, 'Changing' - hinting they may be actively improving life on our planet with their packaged vegetable. No, apparently it's all up to me and my moulded container of leafy greens.

This is part of a green shift run amok; an out of control spirit of Kumbaya reacting to oil spills, mortgage fraud, and credit card debt; it's fresh produce's version of the 'Occupy' movement. It's right up there with catch phrases such as: "Let's do some good", and "Let's put families first", and "Let's make a difference". Remember when changing the world was as easy as "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle"? Now even corporations campaign for a slice of  'better the world' holistic pie.

It cannot be fixed with a Caesar Salad. And maybe it shouldn't be. It all comes down to our little piece of this great cosmic puzzle, and whether any harm or healing we're responsible for will matter four billion years from now when, statistically speaking, humans as we know them will no longer be around.
 

As a father of younguns, I have less time than I used to to contemplate my place in the universe, yet I seem to be doing so more frequently than when my only worry was running out of coins for the wash-o-matic in my student housing complex. I waffle a lot where my meaning of life is concerned. I'm a firm believer in the butterfly principle: even the smallest pebble can create tsunamis. Therefore I must also believe one person can make a difference. But, what does that mean? A difference to whom? My wife and children? Sure. My friends and colleagues? Maybe. Beyond that? Meh...not so sure.

For several years I dabbled in stand-up comedy; it was then I developed my theory that fostering good feelings in people, a couple of dozen of audience members at a time, would result in a better quality of life for them, and those they encountered later on. Voila, my good deed was being done. Such was my justification and motivation for telling jokes at a rate of $50 per night, rather than joining Habitat for Humanity.
Now, as a father, I at first thought it behoved me to foster greatness in my offspring. But, the older they get (they have attained great wisdom at the ripe old ages of 7 and 4 - although they still hate flossing, and still pee on the seat), the more I realize they have been born with strong, independent, and defined personalities and ideas. Perhaps I am here to encourage and comfort; to make them aware of what is possible, more so than to influence and insist on courses of action. Yes, the adults set limits, we build the walls of the maze, but the children choose their own corridors; we just try to block those openings which lead to cliffs.

I'm trying to be more Zen vis a vis my children as well as the rest of the planet's population. As my son pointed out to me late last year, sometimes they just want you for that extra moment: can we read an extra story; can you help me finish my Lego hospital; can I help you make pizza dough? So often I feel rushed to usher them to bed and have a portion of the evening to myself I forget how each of these things require only brief periods of my time, and yet can reshape the entire mood of their day. Our second story last night was The Magic Bus: In the Time of the Dinosaurs; several times it makes the point that humans have only been on earth for a relative wink. Maybe it's not about creating huge waves with pebbles; maybe it's just an extra page of a book, or an extra block placed on a purple hospital, and extra hands in the pizza dough. From there, Que Sera Sera, whatever will be, will be. I needn't try to change the world, and I certainly shouldn't feel pressure from salad in a box to do so, I've got enough on my plate already.

Comments

[ThaiHoa Burroughs]

Love your last paragraph. I can easily get caught up in the day and I what I need to do and forget that my daughter and son need my attention, a lot right now and it affects every aspect of their day and I know in life. I make it an effort, requirement, a choice for myself to get up early and do what I need to do so I can play with them until nap time, preschool, and focus on them when they get up from nap. Don't get me wrong I still get things done when they like to play alone but 5 mins to help her open something or toss her a ball isn't too much to ask for. I am grateful for all those interruptions.

[Tara @ Going Small Town]

I love this and the reminder to enjoy my son. But I do think you have one theory right being the salad was the pebble and this post was a ripple that reached me and all the other readers!

[Ali]

Love,love,love this post! I'm so on board with your theory. It is right in alignment with my new theory. "If it's not physically or morally harmful,let them do it." People ARE way to overzealous about their impact in the world--when in reality, the greatest contributions to society come from right within the walls of our own homes---and even that totally depends on each individuals agency. Love that principle!

[Lynn Reilly]

Great post! I view my job as a parent as my contribution to society by helping my children development into good citizens of the world, where they will make a lasting impression being kind to others (some days) and recycling their empty salad containers (the other days). With good intention as our goal, I think we're all doing our part.