The campsite rule is: “When you leave the campsite, try to make it a little neater, cleaner, better then when you arrived. Take away a little more litter than is yours.”
Whereas I don’t camp much (almost never), I apply this rule to the community I live in. The world is too weird, complicated, confused and often angry, but my local and immediate community does not have to be that way. At the end of the day we spend at least 99% of our life in a very small, confined and intimate world of our home, local community and workplace. Rather than fretting too much about the unfairness of the geo-political world, why not focus a lot of your attention and effort on your rather small world and seek to make it kinder, friendlier and tidier. Your nicer local campsite makes the larger world more tolerable and accommodating.
I have a habit of seeking out litter as I walk along; picking it up. Smile at the clerks in the shops that you frequent. Greet the bus driver with a Hello and say thanks when you get off. Hold the door open in the elevator. Help strangers who seem lost. Give up your seat on the bus or train. Let that car that is try to cut in, in. Seek out ways to make your neighborhood a better place. Start an uplifting and positive conversation with that person standing next to you. Your community is your campsite, deliberately make is a nicer and friendlier place.
It may seem trivial and unimportant but, at the very least it makes you a little prouder and more positive about your world. Curiously and wonderfully over time your immediate surroundings will feel more like home. And your example may inspire a few others, and that is how change happens.
Think globally, but act locally. Make your campsite more awesome. This is pro-active, community based wellness in action.
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