From Global Overwhelm to Local Impact: Loving Outrageously in Your Circle of Influence

We modern humans are exposed to a kind of pain that our prehistoric ancestors, or even those just a couple of hundred years ago, were not: through modern media, we witness suffering across the planet—suffering of humans and animals alike. We can see what happened in Western North Carolina or other southern states as a result of hurricanes and feel the pain there. We can view images from Ukraine and feel empathy for the people suffering there. We can observe what's going on in the Middle East—in Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, and throughout the region—and ask ourselves, "My God, the suffering—what can I do?"

There's a mismatch between the information we receive, which expands our capacity to feel pain globally, and our ability to heal that pain. We're feeling this pain from across the globe, but we're still limited in our ability to alleviate it. So what do we do with that?

The best approach I've heard was proposed to me several years ago by Mark Gafni, who said, "Love outrageously in your circles of influence and intimacy." In other words, make a difference where you can.

There's nothing I can do about the suffering in eastern Ukraine now, other than vote in the upcoming election in the hopes that my candidate can have some influence on that. I can't stop the war. But here's what I can do: I can take steps to heal people in my family, my community, my neighborhood. That I can do. So that's where I'm going to focus my attention, efforts, and resources.

In this way, while I keep myself open to the suffering in distant lands, I am not tormented by the fact that I cannot heal it. It involves a level of trust and humility. I can only address what I can within my circles of influence and intimacy.

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