99 is Not 100
One of my favorite documentaries is Waste Land, by the amazing filmmaker Lucy Walker. It chronicles Brazilian artist Vik Muniz as he takes a group of trash pickers out of the largest landfill in the world located in Rio de Janeiro, and has them help him make art out of garbage. You’re introduced into a life most people couldn’t possibly fathom, and you fall in love with these individuals. One of the things you’ll notice they exemplify is that no matter our wealth or station, we all need the same things – to find love, to feel meaningful, the ability to take care of our children and to be safe.
A few years ago, a special boy needing lifesaving medical care traveled from the most rural of African villages here to the U.S. I got to spend a good deal of time with him, and have since in the many visits he’s made back here, and my own to where he lives. Of course coming to a city in America was a culture shock. He was well taken care of by more people than could take turns reasonably, and therefore he was showered with experiences and gifts. One day in the car, he had a little temper tantrum over using an iPhone. A kid who just a couple months before left his hut in the middle of a dirt village with no electricity. And in that moment, the power of the human instinct slapped me: no matter how much we have, we want more. Our early human ancestors had to search or fight for food, shelter and resources, so we’re hardwired to take when we can.
We all learn the mantra “money doesn’t buy happiness,” but it’s hard to really let it sink in with that human instinct for more, isn’t it?
No matter how much we have, we want more.
Until a liberating day when you realize what you want won’t give you what you need.
Vik Muniz talks about growing up in poverty in Brazil. He made himself an immensely successful artist, and one day after he had tons of cash in the bank, beautiful homes and cars and everything he could buy, he realized none of it gave him fulfillment. And this led him to the project with the trash pickers, where the truest beauty of the human spirit is emotionally shown by…well, I’ll let you watch the film and see what happens.
It occurred to me that in this story, both the super wealthy and the impoverished understood the most important things in life are that which no one can take away from you. Health, education, your love, morality, dignity. But did you consider you can help give these things to others? For us here at Red Dirt, our mission is to use commerce to enable access to water, and employment in developing communities. When you experience that overwhelming, delicious heart swell when you help someone, suddenly the want to keep up with the Joneses whooshes away.
You don’t have to travel to a garbage dump to help others, you can do it with your everyday choices. Conscious choices about your food, your carbon footprint, your work/life balance, and when you make purchases, making them with companies that are also doing good for others.
Never underestimate the power of every choice you make. Every plastic bottle of water you decline, every locally grown vegetable you buy, every carpool, every Red Dirt case ;) One of the trash pickers in the film said something so wise: “One…is of greatest importance, because 99 is not 100, and that single one will make the difference.”
Be the difference,
Christina