Knowing the results of apathy, how do you and I overcome it? First we have to understand it. What is apathy?
- They observed but they did not act.
- They knew but they did not care.
- They heard but they did not respond.
- They thought of themselves rather than thinking of others.
Are you a part of the collective they? Helen Keller said, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all—the apathy of human beings.”
Just as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Helen Keller overcame apathetic concern for their causes, you and I can discover renewed hope, and expectation. Why wait? Let’s do it now!
I encourage you today to go to my website, www.LeslieMcNulty.com. We are here to help you, and have made tools available to you that can change your life!
At about 3:20 a.m. on March 13, 1964, a 28-year-old manager in Queens, New York, returned to her quiet residential neighborhood, parked her car, and began to walk the 30 yards to her door. Noticing a man at the far end of the parking lot, she paused. When he started toward her, she turned the other way and tried to reach a police call box. The man caught and stabbed her. She started screaming that she’d been stabbed, and screaming for help.
Lights went on in the apartment building across the street. Windows opened. One man called out, “Let that girl alone!” The assailant shrugged and walked away. Windows closed and lights went out.
The assailant returned and attacked Genovese again. This time she screamed, “I’m dying! I’m dying!” This time lots more windows opened and lots more lights went on. The assailant walked to his car and drove away, leaving Ms. Genovese to crawl along the street to her apartment building. And somehow, she managed to drag herself inside.
The assailant returned a third time, found Genovese on the floor at the foot of her stairs, and finally succeeded in killing her.
During those three separate attacks over the course of 35 minutes, not one of Kitty Genovese’s neighbors tried to intervene. No burly neighbor dashed outside to save her life. Worse than that, of the more than 30 people who saw at least one of the attacks and heard Genovese’s screams and pleas for help, not one of them even called the police.
After much deliberation, and one phone call to a friend for advice, one man finally urged another neighbor to call authorities, which she did. Police arrived in two minutes, but by then, it was too late.
Interviewed afterward, the residents hesitantly admitted, “I didn’t want to get involved,” or “I didn’t want my husband to get involved.” One said he was too tired to call police and had gone back to bed. Several couldn’t say why they hadn’t helped. Many of them said they’d been afraid to call. They couldn’t say why within the safety of their own homes they had been afraid to call the police—even anonymously.
Albert Einstein said, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”
I want to ask you a question today. Who can you reach out to in your world and show them that you care? What family member, student, or co-worker needs a kind or helping hand?
It cost one human life to wake up 30 families. How many destinies can be changed when you and I emerge from apathy to action? Consider it. It does not matter your sex, your age, or your culture—wherever you are today, you and I have power to initiate change! http://bit.ly/1TkC6bo
As a young woman Mother Theresa, who was suffering from tuberculosis, heard the “call within the call”. She knew she was to leave the convent in Calcutta and work with the poor living among them. With only 5 Rupees in her hand, she started a school in the slums to teach the children of the poor.
Mother Theresa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and India’s highest Civilian Award, set up nearly 570 homes for the poor in 125 countries.
With only 5 Rupees and battling sickness in her own body, Mother Theresa rose above poverty and made a better life for millions of people. One idea, one thought from God can bring significant change, not only to your life, but to the lives of those you know in your community and in your nation! http://bit.ly/1E6nKV7
Today we continue our discussion on Friendship, and friendship with God.
One night a man by the name of Victoricus appeared to his friend Patrick in a dream. Patrick had known Victoricus in Ireland when they were slaves. In Patrick’s dream, Victoricus held a letter with the heading “The Voice of the Irish,” and as Patrick read it, he heard the voice of a multitude of people crying and begging him to come back and walk among them once more.
You know, the ordinary person might be surprised and happy to have an old friend, or even a multitude, appear to them in a dream. But Patrick’s life was different. The Irish in the early 5th century were a barbaric collection of Celtic tribes, and they were regularly sending out raiding parties to capture slaves and riches. One day a great fleet of boats swept up the west coast of Britain and seized “many thousands” of young prisoners. Among these prisoners was a young man by the name of Patrick, who was taken to the slave markets in Ireland. Although he was educated and spoiled as a youth, he now found himself bound to slavery in the cold highlands of Ireland. Destitute with barely any clothing or food to eat, he would spend months with little to no contact with other humans. Yet in this barren place he developed a friendship with Victoricus, and a deep relationship with God.
Victoricus was a reminder to Patrick of Ireland’s need for help. He was an Irishmen trapped in the same slavery that Patrick had experienced. Perhaps you are like Victoricus and you need help? Or perhaps you’ve had a picture in your heart of someone you would like to help?
The dream appearing to Patrick to come and help the Irish was relentless, and finally he surrendered and trained for the ministry in France. A few years later he emerged from seminary as a young Bishop, eventually arriving on the shores of Ireland as the country’s first known missionary. By the time of Patrick’s death the Irish slave trade had ended, and murder and inter-tribal warfare had decreased significantly.
Today, you can be that friend, that caring voice of encouragement as Victoricus was to Patrick, and as Patrick was to an entire nation. You can help someone else find their destiny. So go ahead, take the risk, you won’t be disappointed!
I encourage you today to go to my website, www.LeslieMcNulty.com. We are here to help you, and have made tools available to you that will change your life!
I remember one of our events just north of the Arctic Circle in the city of Murmansk. A hockey rink had been secured for our conference. The main speaker had only one request – that we would NEVER put him on a platform that didn’t allow seating directly in front. When I arrived at the venue just hours before our opening, I was horrified to find that NOT ONE chair had been placed in front of the platform.
I had less than 2 hours to find seating, and the owner of the stadium was not in the mood to help. Glancing at the platform, I recall seeing dozens of risers stacked to the side. Seeing my solution, I directed the workers to distribute the risers across the open floor. The audience quickly filled them up just before the speaker arrived. The owner of the stadium was so impressed with our innovative thinking that by the next morning he had filled the floor with hundreds of chairs free of charge, commenting, “if these people wanted seating this badly – I was determined to give them the best!”
REMEMBER: Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution.
I recently read an article in the Huffington post entitled: Redefining Happiness in India. In the article a young doctor stated,
“As Indian Americans, we have grown up hearing stories from our parents about how they left India in search of a better life. They came to the West to create new opportunities for themselves and for generations to come.
The younger generations have found more opportunities, more amenities and more comfort. But somewhere in always striving for more, we have also become more discontent. We have started asking the questions, “what brings real happiness?” and “what is the definition of a good life?”
She concluded that this is happiness:
– To STOP constantly thinking of ourselves and to find joy in service.
– To look WITHIN for problem solving instead of finding short term joy in outside things.
– To share our joy by sharing with others.
If you look on the outside of my passport you will see that I am an American Citizen; however, when you look inside, it becomes obvious that I am a citizen of the world. And frankly, I have earned each nation stamp as each culture has indelibly etched its image upon my soul! Whether I experienced success or failure, often in many of these nations a sudden crisis brought out my highest level of creativity! I AM a richly woven tapestry of POSSIBILITY THINKING! And you can be too!
First, SPEND TIME WITH CREATIVE PEOPLE
Whether you are at home, school or busy at the office, spend time with ‘creatives’. These unique souls have practiced the art of turning chaos into beauty and problems into possibilities. Maya Angelou says, ““You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
Second, LOOK FOR THE OBVIOUS
As the old saying goes… sometimes the answer is right under your nose. In other words, we don’t always need a creative idea but sometimes we just need to choose the most practical or obvious solution.
Third, BE UNREASONABLE. Always give yourself a minute to think! Think beyond what you consider logical!
Fourth, PRACTICE MENTAL AGILITY.
Being open to spontaneous thought is key to cultivating creativity. I dare you to break free from the rigidity of common thinking and everyday expectation! INNOVATION IS INSPIRING!
Fifth, SEE PROBLEMS AS OPPORTUNITIES!
Creativity is fueled when you replace the word problem with opportunity! ‘Opportunity’ is that moment when you decide, no opposition, poverty, or weakness can hold you back!
One of my most important life-experiences came as I was helping Jean, a woman who attended our weekly feeding program. Our local city had issued a notice that she was to clean up her property or they would haul off all her possessions. What was so tragic is that although she owned a beautiful home, she lived on the front porch! You could not even find a pathway through her home. Though she was a gentle soul with a love for nature and a concern for suffering people, she had a serious mental struggle.
Our local outreach group organized a team to clear her property—not an easy job, since to her, everything seemed valuable. I remember sitting on the street curb, dirty from head to foot, picking up seeds that had just spilled from her pouch. At that moment, a carload of young people careened by and they shouted, “Look at the street people!” Then I realized—they were talking about me! But as my eyes caught Jean’s, I saw joy—because someone cared enough to help her pick up her little seeds.
I have carried that experience with me to over 60 nations. Why? A well-lived life is a life engaged with serving others! If you are sad or depressed, remember there is always someone else who is sadder and more depressed than you. So go out and get busy interacting with others!
Then, as Jesus said, you will discover there is no greater love than to lay down your life for another! (John 15:13) The Dalai Lama said “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
True human value is not found in serving yourself, but in serving others!
In Jim Stovall’s famous book, “The Ultimate Gift” we read the story of a man striving to make his billions, who at the end of his life, leaves a broken, miserable family that has become accustomed to living on HIS wealth. His only son who possessed a work-hard–help-others attitude, died in a tragic accident. The “Ultimate Gift” was left to THAT son’s son, who was wasting away on his grandfather’s monthly stipend.
What could this ultimate gift be? All of the family expected it to be money and lots of it! But the grandson was given an OPPORTUNITY for a journey where he would discover hard work, purpose, friendship, giving and even stewardship!
Receipt of his inheritance would be based upon his ability to rise above the challenge his grandfather had set for him in a series of tests! This young man discovered the ultimate gift was not in HAVING but in GIVING life, working diligently, using his talents and rising to the challenge at hand! Research shows that individuals who know and exercise their character strengths live happier, more successful lives – they have stronger relationships, more engagement at work, and greater life balance.
In the spring of 1883 two young men graduated from medical school. The two differed from one another in both appearance and ambition. Ben was short and stocky. Will was tall and thin. Ben dreamed of practicing medicine on the affluent United States East Coast. Will wanted to work in a rural community.
Ben begged his friend to go to New York where they could both make a fortune. Will refused. His friend called him foolish for wanting to practice medicine in rural USA. “First of all,” Will said, “I want to be a great surgeon…the very best, if I have the ability.”
Years later the wealthy and powerful came from around the world to be treated by Will at his clinic. Today, the Mayo Clinic is one of the leading educational and research hospitals in the world. Why? Because someone chose a life mission to be the very best they could be, and in doing so opened a pathway for scores of others to follow!
