A Drop in the Bucket

By Steve Gwisdalla

This week’s article title is a phrase we have all heard before. It has many meanings but for the purposes of our humble little (but growing) Tribe of Up, it means something powerful. Typically, saying something is a drop in the bucket is not a good thing or a productive use of time or resources. I offer a different viewpoint. A drop in the bucket is awesome! It is necessary. It is one fewer drop that will be needed later.

Recently, I watched a 60Minutes interview with Mitch Albom. He set up an orphanage for dozens of young people in Haiti. Ranging in ages from infants to teenagers, he gives them an education, safety, and peace in a war-torn part of the world people like to conveniently forget. In his interview with Anderson Cooper, he says he is often told that a few dozen kids in Haiti is “a drop in the bucket.” Then Albom says, “But this is our drop.”

This is our drop.

What a message. My friends, what is your drop? What can you do? What can I do? Perhaps we cannot build a 7-acre refuge with 30-foot walls, 24-armed guards and 50 teachers for over 50 kids in a gang-laden part of the world. But. But. We can do something. We can spend a few hours a month volunteering for a group or organization that helps people who are less fortunate. We can cook a meal for a neighbor who is struggling. We can purchase a gift card for a teacher. Teachers who use their own money (far too often I might add) for their classrooms and their students.

What is your drop?

Volunteering at your church? Mowing your neighbor’s grass because the gas can in your garage is full and your neighbors isn’t? The list is endless. These drops may not change the world. But they will change people’s paradigms for a few moments. If we can string enough of these moments, these drops together, then perhaps we can start filling buckets one drop at a time.

At one of my son’s JV baseball games, I asked one of his teammate’s younger brothers (shout out to you Easton!) how we can make the world better. He looked at me and said, “two things. Be nice to people.” “That is awesome” I said. “What is the second thing?” “Play catch with me.”  So in between games of their doubleheader, Easton and I played catch. I didn’t have a glove and for a tee ball player, he threw hard. The bruise on my hand is almost gone. That bruise and those 10 or so minutes were a drop.

What is your drop? All shapes and sizes dear friends. Reach out to me if I can help at [email protected].

About the Tribe of Up

The Tribe of Up is an idea. An idea that in all aspects of our lives, we belong to a collection of of groups or tribes. Our employers are tribes. Our communities, our families, etc.. The Tribe of Up is a group of people who simply look to advocate for more joy in all aspects of our lives. We don’t live or die by news cycles. We don’t subscribe to the polarization and ‘side-choosing’ society seems to want us to do on a daily basis. Rather, we look for the positive in situations. We find the up. Then we share the joy that up provides. If this sounds like the kind of oasis you are seeking in our day-to-day chaos, consider scrolling through past articles. Simply search “Tribe of Up” on the Sun Times News website. Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. I am a Dexter resident and own a personal and professional coaching firm called Better Place Consulting. Thanks for stopping by!