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This is my one thousandth blog post on Change By Doing. That kind of hurts my head. It’s not a huge number for staffed blogs that have enormous international reach, but for me, as a one-man band, I’m not mad at that.

Thank you for reading. Thank you to those who have reached out and told me of actions they have taken in the world of volunteering and being of service. Thank you for the work you are doing, and for, at least occasionally, having priorities that intersect with mine. Thank you for disagreeing and showing me new perspectives. Going forward, I hope you’ll always feel welcome to interact, breathe more life into the conversation, ask questions, make requests, comment, and participate.

I’ve had remarkable opportunities to open some new dialogues with folks out there truly making a difference, and thus dial back to the place of finding ways to express my own stand. I’m always happy to grab nuggets from others that say the things I want to say, and here is one: from Timber Hawkeye and the website Buddhist Boot Camp. While his every word is not exactly from the same place where I am, this is very much the way I’ve felt of late:

I’m not against Monsanto, I’m pro-organic food. (Calm down.. keep reading! LOL). I’m not angry at meat-eaters, I choose to be vegan. I’m not against men and women getting married, but I see no reason why two women or men shouldn’t marry one another as well. You see, instead of bashing what I hate, I promote what I love instead. I don’t think large corporations are evil, I just try to support local businesses whenever I can. It’s that simple. I choose to operate from a place of love, not hate (it’s better for my health).

We’re not all activists in the rioting sense of the word, but we all vote with our wallets. We decide which companies get to stay in business and which do not. For example: Grocery stores in Hawaii will continue to sell mangoes that are imported from Ecuador (even though mangoes grow right there on the islands), so long as people in Hawaii keep buying those mangoes from Ecuador. It’s that simple.

It’s been said that anger is a good motivator to “do the right thing”, but so is compassion. Anger can sometimes blind us in our actions to a point where we’re so busy protesting AGAINST something (thereby giving it more energy and attention), that we’re actually disturbing the peace (not just around us, but within).

I’ve been accused of sticking my head in the mud to avoid seeing the injustice in the world, but my eyes are actually wide open… That’s why I can see the beauty in the world as well.

As Mother Teresa said, “If you invite me to an anti-war rally I won’t go. But if you invite me to a pro-peace rally, I’ll be there!”