Well it looks like Hilary isn’t going to be the President of the United States any time soon. For her the race appears to be over. But is it?
Personally, I found the preliminary candidate race quite entertaining. I have sat in cafés reading all about it on the Internet. I’ve watched the news on television and read newspapers from the luxury of my armchair. I’ve had the time to do such things, but I doubt Hillary has. She, along with all the other candidates have worked hours that most of us would find unimaginable.
Yet for Barak and Hillary the work will not stop. The pace will not become more tolerable and the pressures more bearable. My guess is, that no matter who becomes Barak’s running mate, Hillary will be there in the wings. And if, as speculation suggests, Barak wins the Presidential election, then the pace will continue. There is no obvious holiday for either of them for the next five years.
What drives these people? Despite a lurking Kiwi cynicism, I’m sure it’s neither the money nor the power. In most cases they are already wealthy and powerful. What drives them appears to be a genuine political ideology to change society for the better.
It doesn’t matter whether we find their viewpoints egregious; in many cases I do. However I find their commitment and energy both inspiring and debilitating. Imagine being that committed to a cause; that obsessed with your capacity to make a difference.
Imagine waking every day with the knowledge that, on this day, you are doing something that will make such a difference that your time, over-time and reserve energy are worth it.
The reality is, each of us can and do make a difference every day. The question is, what kind of difference do we make? What effect do we have in our part of the world?
I think that most of us want to be significant but we’re not sure how to go about it. We look to the big names as being the real change makers, but I don’t think they are. We all are!
Each day I have the capacity to make a difference in the lives of my children, my work colleagues and people who simply cross my path. But this seems too benign. It’s not fabulous or outrageous or loud. Little stuff doesn’t stand out. People who make a real difference are highly visible.
The Christian life is not about “loud and outrageous”. It’s about secret significance. It’s about the deep knowledge that we are called to do good stuff without fanfare. Jesus said, you should do good so quietly that your left hand will not know what the right hand is doing, but do it with passion.
Seeing every moment of my day as having the capacity to make a difference without the fanfare means I will not receive many accolades, but I will get to face God as one who has lived God’s “gift of life” very well.
Digby Wilkinson © 2008