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The same thing happens on a much larger scale all around
world. Rich countries want to help poor countries. They need to raise money in order to give it away. In order to raise that money, they need to show results from previous efforts. To get positive results, they have to come up with programs that sound feasible and promise outstanding outcomes. They must jump through appropriate hoops. Any grant writer can tell you that there is an art to getting money, and it has very little to do with good intentions.
We need guidelines even when we have best of intentions, but sometimes we get so caught up in following our plan that we fail to do right thing. A recent news story told of a local organization that missed out on over $700,000 in funding it receives from a particular agency each year. Why? The grant application was submitted using margins that were four letters too wide. The agency expressed regret that they would be unable to support this worthy but unfortunate group this year, but stood by its strict rules as a means of filtering out those who are not able to follow instructions to letter.
We use good intentions as a cloak on far too many occasions. There are times when it's necessary to recognize that where we're headed wasn't anywhere on our map when we started journey. Just because we mean well doesn't mean it's okay to keep going in wrong direction.
It's fine to figure out what you want, and it's okay to ask for it. There's certainly no reason why we shouldn't think of ways to improve ourselves and our world and set out to achieve our goals.
But it's not okay to pursue an activity once we realize that original intention--the reason for beginning in first place--has been lost in flurry of activity required to pursue it. If you kick your brother in teeth while stealing his toy, you're going to get in trouble, and Mom will show no mercy.
We know what we want for all humans on planet. It's right there in writing, in that document which has been translated into over 300 languages. We're not even close to achieving all that we want, or all that we can. We created a beautiful promise in that proclamation, but we've become too distracted to make it our priority.
If Mom were taking care of this, she'd sit us down and make us read Universal Declaration of Human Rights until we knew its salient features by heart. We'd emerge from our bedroom contrite and committed to being a better citizen. We'd do our best to please her and to make things right, not because we feared her wrath but because we knew she was lovingly teaching us what it means to be excellent.
O Mother, where art thou?
Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse. Her course, Massage Your Mind!: Defining Your Life Philosophy, has inspired thinkers in over 70 countries around the world. To sign up for her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, visit http://www.massageyourmind.com.
