I recently participated in a discussion group with Toussaint Romain who is a public defender and an activist in Charlotte. He came to my job and hosted a ‘Ted Talk’ presentation about moving small pebbles. His primary theme was to explain to us that small efforts make a difference. After that presentation, a small group of us were selected to have a discussion with him offline to ask more in-depth questions.
Being that my current employer hires a lot of your people who are just starting their careers, there was an overwhelming feeling of us not “doing enough” because we have put so much focus on getting into our careers and lost sight of giving back. Most of us volunteer with our job with our several non-profits but the mutual conscious amongst the group is that we should be doing more, a lot more. During this discussion, he wanted to ease our minds to let us know that our small efforts are still making an impact on the bigger picture. He went on to give us a real-life example of how this works. He explained how when he goes to a movie he is the last person to leave the theater. During the credits of the movie you see the director, producer, writers but then you also see the camera grip person, make-up artist, stylist, extra number one, etc.. His point was that no matter how small your role was that if you helped in any way with a movie you were recognized and that is how we should view our lives. This was an eye-opening moment for all of us. We all took a moment to think about, who was in my credits, whose credits am I in?
The point of this post is not for me to list out all of the people who have been instrumental in my life of those that I think I have impacted; however, it’s to help inspire you (and myself) to continue to make a conscious effort to help others, support family and friends goals, and help push the needle forward for someone else. Most of us may not know what our small pebble of change is, but someone you know may know theirs. Help them with their goals/plans and in turn, the universe will help you with yours.
My grandmother uses to say, “we must be a service to others as someone once was to us”. She was 86 when she passed away still being an active volunteer at her church managing their food panty every Tuesday, volunteering during voting seasons, donating clothes to Kidney Foundation, and occasionally working at homeless shelters. None of them were her personal pebbles or her main goals in life, but she knew her efforts were helping others and wanted to do what she could, big or small.
That mentality displayed by Toussaint and my grandmother is one that we all should try and adapt. Reach out to your family and friends, support their causes, volunteer, donate, help your church, etc. Because, let's face it, we don’t know whose credits we have the potential to be in.
Love, Brown Girl
“Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you”. - Mother Teresa
A few of my family and friends that are working on their Peebles:
Mackenzie Lewis - Founder of YMe? @ymecharlotte on Instagram
Committed to supporting youth in at-risk schools in their pursuits to empower their own communities, build financial literacy and reach their goals
Cory Bennett - Founder of Exchange LLC @xchangellc on Instagram
Promoting creation, collaboration, and change in Charlotte, with an emphasis on young black men
Jason Streeter - Coach of LifeHoops lifehoops.org @lifehoops_clt & @jstreet718 on Instagram
LifeHoops coached young individuals to become leaders on the court, at school, and in their communities
Darnele Chisholm - Owner of Sharp as Nellz @sharp_as_nellz on Instagram
Offering discounted haircuts and volunteer efforts to kids in the inner city of Charlotte