As I walk with my wife and daughter to our local café, waving to neighbours, I wonder, is this enough, or should I be chasing a grander legacy?
Impact has been at the front of my mind lately for various reasons. Particularly, I’ve been thinking about how I should be contributing to those around me and the various neighbourhoods, groups and communities that I am a part of. It’s been bubbling along in my mind as I look at how I can try and make everything balance, whilst still making meaningful contributions in the areas that I want to.
Contrast this with the most recent SpaceX flight as we look towards a future on Mars. The allure is there to become someone who is known throughout the ages. This is prevalent in all of the fantasy and sci-fi that I read. The unknown person rises to save the kingdom or worlds, whether it be Jimmy the Hand, Darrow au Augustus, or Kaladin, to name a few. They are called. They answer. They are known everywhere and have provided a service to the world.
So whilst I think locally, I daydream globally. I daydream of being aboard the Pax as we fly to Mars or Ganymede, or sailing through Midkemia on a quest.
Cicero, interestingly, had a similar thought thousands of years ago about global versus local. He identifies two contrasting figures to exemplify the best form of social engagement. Gill and Polat, summarising Cicero, describe two paths as “the hero Heracles who performs services for the whole human race, and the ideal wise person who expresses his virtue through involvement in family and community life. The two pathways are presented as equally valid alternatives.1“
Cicero’s ancient wisdom highlights two paths, yet today’s hustle culture pushes us toward the global, often at the expense of the local.
Hustle culture still seems to be a dominant message. Whilst I don’t watch these YouTube videos myself, my feed is filled with videos promoting such messaging as work harder, get after it, someone out there is doing more than you. It can be a hard message to initially ignore. Doubt can creep in. Sure, I’m playing with my daughter and having a great time, but why am I not taking 30 minutes to build the next big thing? The shadow of social media influencers watches over me.
Entrepreneurs building the next big thing are celebrated. Some even receive a cult like celebrity status. These are the people that we look to and hold up as role models in our lives. They receive the awards, the attention, the views, the power and influence.
So their message has a broader reach and is more persuasive. Do more. Get after it. Build the next big thing. Sacrifice.
This argument, though, is misleading. It distorts the impact that one can have on a smaller scale. Because the scale of growth isn’t everything, which is commonly put forward in the business world. Our impact matters on a local scale as much as it may on a larger stage with a larger audience. It’s not just about growth.
Yet, there is an alternative, one that is fulfilling and meaningful, one that doesn’t get as much attention these days. It can allow us to make great contributions and impact, just in different ways than the default opinion or viewpoint nowadays, which I see as society’s bias toward grand achievements. If we reject this, we can find meaning in the slower, more local moments.
Slow mornings are nice mornings in our household. We rise and go for a walk, chatting to neighbours and those in our suburb as we walk to the local cafe. A friendly wave, a quick hello, and a conversation here and there are important parts of our day.
These moments are present everywhere. Helping a friend move. Checking in on another because they’ve had a rough day. Remembering a birthday. It’s the time you spend with your own family, focused on what they are doing, instead of being distracted by your phone. Playing with your daughter. Listening to your wife recount her day. Slowing down and being present as the day happens. Laughing. Commenting on the leaf your daughter has carefully selected from the yard and placed in a bag to show you.
These are the moments that matter in the here and now. Appreciating and being a part of what nature is giving us.
The world won’t know what you have done. Many of your own friends won’t either. But they make an impact on your family, friends and community. These unseen actions are foundational to building and living the life that we should want to live, one that involves participating in society and providing benefits to others.
After all, we should feel compelled to help out. Disappearing into the woods to a cabin is not the answer. At least not permanently.2
These unseen actions are everywhere. It’s the fabric of our neighbourhoods. It’s people picking up the newspaper thrown onto the sidewalk and placing it in the letterbox. Picking up other’s dog poo and people’s trash. Stopping to talk to others on a walk.
These unseen acts provide support for others. They matter in the local community. Yet none of us can claim to be Heracles.
Some of us will become today’s version of Heracles. We are making progress towards Mars. Some people in positions of power, such as in the Government, are bringing about meaningful reforms.3 These are roles that require huge sacrifices, which we should appreciate. Going to Mars is consuming. So is bringing forth a policy and getting the votes. They require hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of work. Work that I myself, at this point in my life, am unwilling to give.
The sacrifice from these individuals is in their family, their friends, and their leisure. Perhaps even their fitness and health. Because it will be all-consuming. There is no time for other things in the amount of hours that the rest of us would like.
Just like Heracles, large sacrifices are demanded.
The pursuit of a Mars mission or groundbreaking policy reform offers a chance to leave a lasting legacy, inspiring millions and shaping history.
So whilst this is a valid pathway, it is not for everyone.
If the call does come, will we answer and contribute to the global stage, or continue to focus on the quiet acts that shape our communities?
I have an active imagination and love to daydream. I’m on a horseback, cloak moving in the wind, sword by my side and bow slung over my shoulder as I make my way to the next town in service to my king. Or I’m in space, aboard the command ship, on route to a battle that will save worlds.
Some people go on to change the world and have a huge impact. That doesn’t mean we all need to, nor that we can’t bring about meaningful contributions in our own local areas.
Truthfully, though, I’m happy for my daydreams to be just that, daydreams.4
While society glorifies the world changers, I find deeper meaning in the small, unseen acts that strengthen my community, fulfilled in my role as the local person where I can express my virtues through family and community life, enjoying these smaller moments as they come up. My daydreams inspire me to action, within my own local community, to make a contribution and live with purpose.
Footnotes
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