Can We Change the World? The Answer Lies Within Each of Us.

Before we begin, let’s explain what a preamble is. According to my good friends at Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a preamble is a preliminary statement that explains the purpose of a document or organization.

With that bit of footwork out of the way, let me also explain that H.O.W. (Humanity One World) is a movement consisting of writers and concerned citizens who are interested in making this world a better place to live.

Now, having said that, one could easily come to the conclusion that the last sentence written is as good a preamble as any, but I would disagree, and as the founder of the H.O.W. movement, my disagreement carries some weight.

Yes, H.O.W. is about making this world a better place to live, but I really don’t think that adequately describes our purpose.

I can speak from experience here since I am an alcoholic. In many AA meetings around the world, the preamble is read as part of the pre-sharing portion. The AA Preamble states:

“If anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA to always be there, and for that I am responsible.”

In other words, we recovering alcoholics have a responsibility to give back to the alcoholic community. We recognize that we cannot stay sober on our own efforts, that we need a community of fellow alcoholics for support. That is how AA works! In fact, the 12^th Step of AA states that “Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”

That’s it! That is our job as recovering alcoholics, to give back to others that which was freely given to us.

Since I do not believe in fixing something that isn’t broken, I have decided to borrow from the AA Preamble and fine-tune it a bit for our purposes. The new H.O.W. Preamble goes something like this:

“If anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of H.O.W. to always be there, and for that I am responsible.”

You see, I happen to believe that it is my responsibility to give back to society, and it is my responsibility to help those who need help. It is only by the Grace of God or some random roll of the cosmic dice that I am not homeless, or that I was not abused, or that I was not raped or sold into slavery or whatever other horrors occur daily in this world.

Now, that leaves me with two choices: I can either blithely go on my way, happy that my life is great but being unaware and uncaring about others who might be suffering, OR, I can be grateful for my good fortune and do everything in my power to help others.

I choose the latter!

Have you ever thought about how random fate is? Some who are reading this have never known hardship. Others reading this seem to have hardship hard-wired into their DNA. I am especially tuned into the whole cosmic nature of things because I am adopted. I’m one of the lucky one because I was adopted by caring parents who made sure I was raised with love and solid principles….but what if I hadn’t been adopted by those parents? What if I had been adopted by a couple who had no moral compass, or who died five years after adopting me? How would my life have been different?

How would my life have been different if I hadn’t had some loved ones who wouldn’t give up on me when I was a hopeless drunk? How would my life have been different if I had remained homeless, dumpster-diving for scraps of food?

A child cries from hunger on the streets of Philadelphia and no one hears.

An abused mother of four cries herself to sleep at night because she cannot take care of her children, and no one hears.

A veteran spends another hour in the soup kitchen downtown, savoring his one meal of the day, and no one sees.

If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there, does it make a sound?

Fair question, don’t you think? If the plights of the homeless, the abused, and the hungry are not my responsibility, then who should I expect to step up and solve the problems? Seriously! Should I just turn my head and say that the government should handle these issues? Seriously? The government cannot handle the fiscal cliff; how can I expect them to handle the problem of millions of homeless.

Should I expect my neighbor to handle it all? Seriously? My neighbor who only cares about himself and his immediate concerns? Is that my solution?

Should I expect corporations to handle these problems, or perhaps I think that this is a job for the churches? Seriously? I see churches spending millions on building improvements while the parishioners stand in bread lines, and I see corporation CEO’s with off-shore accounts brimming with cash as they send jobs to China. Is that my solution?

No, those are not solutions at all; they are just examples of passing the buck, something we as a society are very good at.

Every single one of you has to ask yourselves that question. I am writing to those of you who have a conscience. I am writing to those of you who still have an ounce of compassion and who still believe in the brotherhood of man.

The passing of the buck stops now! You, and you, and you and you….we are all responsible. You cannot sip your Mai Tai on a beach in the Tropics and pretend that there is no suffering. You cannot pad your 401K and then drop a quarter into the cup of a homeless woman. You cannot pat your child on the head and pray in thanks that she is safe while other children are being snatched off the streets and sold into slavery.

Or maybe you can do it….but I cannot!

I am responsible when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help. Period!

I have heard those words often since I started Humanity One World. I have heard that it all seems so hopeless; I have heard that there are so many problems that they dwarf any attempt we might make to solve them, and I have heard that one person cannot possible be an instrument of change when there are so many injustices.

And I am tired of hearing those things! Nothing changes if nothing changes, so let’s get off the pitty pot and start changing things.

The H.O.W. Movement is growing, and it will continue to grow if each and every one of you helps. You are the ones who can spread this message. You are the ones who can be instruments of change. You have to find it in your hearts to be that instrument. You are the ones who have to be willing to take the next step and do everything in your power to spread love and compassion.

Yes, spread love and compassion and yes, spread this message. Contact news agencies and newspapers. Print up H.O.W. fliers and distribute them. Invite all of your friends to visit our Facebook page and our website. Start H.O.W. support groups in your hometown, and get your community involved. Have H.O.W. fundraisers and donate to a charity.

Be the instrument of change in 2013!

Yes, we have had a very nice honeymoon with this H.O.W. gig. We have gotten some people excited, and we have written some powerful articles, and we should all feel good about that honeymoon.

Now the real marriage begins, and we all know how difficult a marriage can be!

Now the hard work begins. I don’t know what you thought about this movement when it began. I’m sure some of you thought that it was a cute little gesture, but that it would blow away in a few weeks.

Well surprise….as long as I am breathing this movement is not going away.

Are you with me for the long run, or did you just sign up for the honeymoon? Are you willing to put in the work necessary to make this marriage work, or are you too busy to be bothered? It begins with the 365/365 Challenge; we'll move forward from there.

When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of H.O.W. to always be there, and for that…..

We are responsible!

2013 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)