A few days ago, I met a man named Mark. He had just returned from Southeast Asia where he spent two years teaching English in Korea and a few months working in a campaign to save orangutans in Borneo, Indonesia. Mark is from Wisconsin where he studied music and theater. Singing has always been an inseparable part of his life and it accompanied him on his travels. In Borneo, Mark used his talent to compose songs, prepare skits and put up theatrical productions to help educate villagers in the area about conservancy programs for the orangutan. His energy was infectious and his smile was disarming. His eyes lit up with such life that you couldn't help but share the passion burning behind them.
It wasn't surprising that this Pied Piper from LaCrosse, Wisconsin had Borneo's kids following him everywhere and singing his songs.
What's so special about Mark is that his soul still fuels the flame we all felt at some point in our youth but simply extinguished. Yes, life happens and it is always going to have plans different from the ones we make for ourselves. Does that mean we shouldn't bother to make a difference in the world? Are we to resign ourselves to where life takes us? Haven't enough of us done that already? What has that resignation given us besides turning us into drones in a factory-like society?
Here is a guy who went around the world to a small town outside Seoul,Korea so kids and adults could learn to speak English better. He then went to Borneo, Indonesia so that children started caring for the forests surrounding them and the happy orangutans sitting in those forests. He has now returned to the States where he educates people on the detrimental effect that the demand for palm oil has on rainforests in Indonesia.
Mark is not a lone fighter trying to make a difference but his army isn't large either. However, if one person has managed to touch the lives of so many people and leave a lasting impact, what does it take to add one more?
In talking to him, I remembered that I too shared his passion a long time ago. When I was finishing high school, I started to maintain a website on Geocities.com where I'd post articles on cruelties inflicted on the animal kingdom. At that time, I was a dorky teenager living with the dream that enough people would read these stories and take a stand to help be the voice for the voiceless. Sadly, a few years later, Geocities died and my own voice died out with it. I had forgotten about that website for a long time now. Mark's journey triggered something in me and thanks to Google, I tracked down my tiny space on the web after 10 years. Here's a link to it:
Vikram's Annals for Animals
In this site, I see my former self brimming with hope and enthusiasm. I look at myself now and only wish I never let this flame die again. Not all of us can turn into Marks but we can certainly use a spark of Mark.
Sit up today and make a difference. Give something back, help a friend or better yet, help a stranger. Take a stand. Lend a hand. It doesn't matter what you do but just do something. Be the change.
