My friend and neighbor, Tod Schroeder, told me a great little story a few years ago and it has really stuck with me. It's a story about a guy walking his dog when the dog poops on the lawn at the park. He just ignores it and continues on. Plenty of people stop to point it out and complain, but only ONE person actually cleans it up. The moral of the story is that there are basically three kinds of people - the people who create problems (poopers), the people who point out problems (pointers), and the people who solve problems (scoopers). I guess there could be a fourth group - those that just don't care about the poop in the first place, but I think firmly believe that if you are not part of the solution, you are automatically part of the problem, so I would have to group those people in with the poopers or pointers. I am such a SCOOPER! I am always busy trying to solve the world's problems. Maybe that's why I never have time to blog! Well, that, and I never really do anything interesting enough to share...
I truly believe I was born to scoop - that's why I am always the first to sign up for PTA president or volunteer for a service project. I think that often times scoopers have the hardest job. I have been SO discouraged when I think I am helping. Some people don't want your help, many people want to tell you how to help but don't actually want to participate in helping, and other times you feel like you're beating your head against a brick wall because the task at hand is so overwhelming. But I honestly can't sleep at night if I know that I am not helping with all the things that I could or should. I can't help but think that if I don't do it, nobody will. And when you are the scooping example, it's amazing how many people around you follow suit.
So, I guess my random thought for the day is - BE A SCOOPER! I have accepted that I can't change the world, but that doesn't mean I can't change my little corner of the world :) Happy Scooping!
