Guest Author: Saren Eyre Loosli
As I studied third world development and international
relations in my undergraduate studies and went on to study what education is
and what more it could be with my Masters, I figured out a whole lot of
seemingly brilliant solutions to many vital issues.
But
somehow I never quite got in the position to implement my ideas. I did
some cool things – worked in orphanages in Eastern Europe, did a little
humanitarian work in Kenya and Bolivia, ran volunteer-promotion efforts
nationwide, set up programs in needy schools....
...then I started having kids.
Because my fertility clock was ticking when I finally found “Mr. Right,”
we started our family quickly, the kids came in quick succession, and thanks to
a surprise set of twins, I had five kids in just five years.
I loved my kids dearly and was grateful that my deeply-held dream of having a
family had come true. But mothering didn't come as naturally to me as it
does to some and life was pretty crazy for a while. The photo below captures a
bit of how difficult those few years were.
As I struggled just to meet the basic needs of my children,
I saw my personal need to be involved in the larger world drift further and
further away. I crammed bits and pieces of work for various worthy
causes (part-time training and consulting for non-profits, service work for my
church, helped a non-profit serving orphanages in Bulgaria get off the ground)
in between naps and diaper changes and story time. But mostly my
life consisted of doing rather mundane and often unpleasant things for lots of
noisy messy wonderful people with many mutually exclusive needs.
One day I read a quote by Mother Teresa's that stuck with
me: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
Motherhood is perhaps the greatest example of a long, long string of small
things that, done with great love and extra thought, can have ripple effects
that go on for generations.
I came to realize that maybe my “cause,” my purpose in life,
was right under my nose. Perhaps mothering my own kids, helping make the
schools in my own community better, being a good neighbor and friend, and
learning from and helping the other mothers around me was a much “grander”
cause than any other I could pursue.
While it's true that my kids are informed about world issues
and pray each night for the orphans in Bulgaria that we do a fund raiser for
each Christmas, I hope my kids also are learning something it took me a
whole lot of years to figure out: Doing little things to better the world
immediately around you and helping with the things you're already PART OF is
vital and beautiful – and often more personally satisfying than trying to
impact big groups and sweeping causes.
Taking treats to a lonely neighbor is just as important as
sending money to a lonely orphan. Offering friendship to a left-out kid
at school is just as important as giving food to a hungry child in
Africa. Volunteering in my own kids' classroom is just as important as
changing education systems.
AND... Helping bright, motivated moms find each other and
share what they know is just as important as helping non-profits pool their
resources and learn from each other.
The micro matters a LOT. The macro doesn't happen
without the micro. It really is the little things that count.
You and I can change the world, by changing our world...
One person, one mother, one family at a time.
Starting right here with you and me. Saren Eyre Loosli, mother of five kids in five years, and co-founder of The Power of Moms, holds a B.A. from Wellesley College and a Masters in Education from Harvard. She's consulted and conducted training for numerous non-profits including the National Institute on Out-of-School Time, YMCA, public and private schools and One-Heart Bulgaria and has traveled to Africa and South America with Choice Humanitarian.
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