I think very often we have an impulse to become involved at a community or even larger level in bettering the world around us, but we think we have too many obligations already. Maybe even with good intentions, we bow out because we are concerned we could not follow through with the commitment, or we get cowed thinking that we will not have enough time to give.
“The time is always right to do what’s right.” (Address at Oberlin College, October 22, 1964.)
However much time or material goods you have to give, that is the right amount. If it lessens as time goes by, that is okay; if you find down the line you have more to give, then that is right, too. It begins by starting. I know this is something I need to think more about. I know this is something I need to work on: stop talking and start doing, stop worrying about the future and act in the present. In fact, I think I feel a resolution coming on…
E’s third resolution of 2010: The right time is always now.
The time to put in to deed all my plans and dreams, and lay aside my worries and anxieties, is always right now. Right now.
Tags: 501c3, advice, charity, Dr. King's Day, generosity, images, love, Martin Luther King, MLK, New Year's Resolution, Patron saints, peace, photography, Pictures, quotes, Resolution, revolution, stills, volunteerism
January 15, 2010 at 7:04 pm |
Hm. In his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” he wrote “the time is always RIPE to do right.” Which kinda makes more sense, and makes me wonder if the “Address at Oberlin College” was transcribed by someone who misheard him, or what.
Doesn’t really matter I guess.
January 15, 2010 at 11:43 pm |
Oh, no, but it DOES matter, because so many of his works were bowlderized before publication, and even before his death he took such issue with those heavy-handed censors. I am totally interested in the differences!