Last night, I finished listening to Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, on Audible.
In the last 15 minutes, he discusses immunity. He talks about how, as a society, we’ve become immune to unwanted calls from telemarketers through the use of caller ID and voicemail. At the time of his publishing, we were becoming immune to unwanted email by reading less of it and often not responding unless it’s coming from someone we know and trust.
He makes the point that, “When people are overwhelmed with information and develop immunity to traditional forms of communication, they turn instead, for advice and information, to the people in their lives who they respect, admire, and trust.”
It made me think of us.
On this journey to love more, we have to resist immunity along the way.
We are more connected to the world than ever before. We can see more and do more than any group of people in history.
But are we inundated with so much need, that we’ve allowed ourselves to become immune?
With Facebook and Twitter feeds full of images, videos, and stories of need in the world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. We’re constantly bombarded with requests to give to causes that are meaningful to others. They’re all good causes and people who need support. But when we’re faced with so much hurt from the screens of our devices, sometimes it’s easier to look the other way.
It’s easy to scroll past it with our thumbs and move on to the next encouraging story about a dog being rescued from certain death or a meme that makes us giggle.
It’s easier to do nothing.
Behind a screen, in a world of our own struggle, not doing anything seems more and more like an acceptable option.
We’re compassion-fatigued. In order to survive the onslaught of information and need, we’ve become immune and numb to things that don’t directly affect our lives. We’re too busy trying to keep our own heads above the water, to get distracted by all the others who need our help.
We can’t help them all, so why even try?
I’ll tell you why.
The person you become when you do nothing, is not the person you want to be.
The immune heart. The numb mind. The eyes that look away.
That’s not who you are.
Immunity is a form of protection. But if you’re protecting yourself from empathy, you’re protecting yourself from love.
In order to create more love in the world for yourself and others, you have to open yourself up to their stories.
This is exactly why we’re focusing on telling the stories of these women, our Love Makers.
But these stories aren’t sad. They won’t leave you feeling hopeless, guilty or depressed. In fact, quite the opposite. They will inspire you to take action, to pay attention to that pull in your heart.
You’ll want to lean in, instead of looking the other way.
Then, you’ll be empowered to support them in a way that benefits you both, by buying their products and gifts in our shop. Your impact won’t stop there. By choosing to support our Love Makers with your purchases, you’ll be creating lasting change, all over the world.
We’re changing the way business is done. We’re changing philanthropy and shopping too.
Most of all, I hope we’re changing you.
I hope we’re opening your heart and your mind to the endless possibilities of ways to get involved. To learn more. To do more. To share more. To make a difference, in a way that works for everyone.
To become more of the woman you want to be, not less of her.
Isn’t that the reason we’re all here in the first place?
To more love,
Crystal
P. S. We’ve had a few little hiccups in getting more stories and products in the shop this week and that’s just how it goes. They’ll be here soon and we can’t wait to share them. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, check out these darling boots by Colette Sole USA!
