Peter Hosey

The most helpful thing you can do is take the first step, whatever that is.

If that turns out to be the wrong thing for you, that's fine. Back out, then find something else. It's OK if you don't find the right work or the right group first try. Keep trying.

There is something you can do that will help. I promise you that. It could be meeting facilitation; keeping notes; maintaining a website; investigating an issue and doing a write-up. Activism doesn't always look like activism.

Find your piece of the work and do that.

It may take you a few tries, but you can find the things you're needed for and the people you'll work best with.

And don't forget to rest. You can't help if you're exhausted and burned out. Take your rest when you need it so you can get back in it when you're ready.

There are no saviors. Nobody is in charge. Fortunately, a little knowledge and a little effort go much farther than you might think.

As Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg says, “we need all hands on deck and there's a lot of deck”. So find your piece of the work and do that.

If this looks familiar, it's because I posted it last year as part of a discussion thread. I decided today to make a copy of it as a stand-alone chost.