It might not be your job

I was looking at my Facebook page one day and I saw a post calling out folks who see injustice or an inhuman circumstance and do not take charge to fix it. I can’t say anything close to what the article said that the post linked to (can’t find it now) but it was something about standing around talking about how bad a situation is, instead of taking on the job to fix it. It said in a round about way that your feeling sorry about it was meaningless unless you were actively putting in the work to make a difference. I understand the point but now let me tell you what it left out.

It’s not the job of every human to see inaction and act upon it. It’s not everyone’s job to tackle every job. If it were we could not possibly be enough. Sometimes your only job is to see wrong and point it out. Is the pointing it out less than the physical act of correcting the wrong?

Not every situation is to be saved from itself. If you see a 2 ton boulder about to fall off a cliff it’s not a good idea to try to catch it. We can’t see behind the curtain of the universe. So, we have no way of knowing when to act and when not to. I believe that if you are suppose to act you will and even Hercules himself couldn’t stop you mere mortal should it be your turn to shine. I am just saying it’s not always your duty to step up and sometimes even the most unjust situations need the opportunity to play themselves out because the playing out of the situation may also be the fix.

It is so easy to compare ourselves to anyone who is not us. Comparing ourselves will not solve anything. A more proactive thing to do would be to observe that it may or may not be our job. We all have strong virtues that are beneficial to share with society and it is our job to share those. You probably know or have some vague idea of what your stronger qualities are.

A reporter in the field can give his account of a bad situation to a world audience and then move on to let someone else step in to try to do the fixing. Is it wrong for that same reporter to allow others to take over once they point out the situation? Obviously not. The reporter can move on to uncover other injustices while those people, whose job it is, fixes the bad situation. Is the reporter less important than those who stay behind to mend?

What I propose to you regarding this idea about our jobs, is that we not compare or weigh importance. Don’t look at others and say, I should do what they are doing or I wish I could do what they are doing. Instead say to yourself, this might not be my job. My job might be to do this (something you are good at or drawn to). I will let them do their job and help should I be asked but I’m also going to sit here ready for when my time comes. I don’t have to be everything to everyone.