Dance For All Life

By Rae Sikora

“When giants learn to dance with the little people, then there will be progress”-Nigerian Proverb

I came across this proverb this week and at first thought it was perfect for our times. Maybe if big business connects with the public, things will change. Then I thought about it more while walking in the woods, I realized that there is already a dance going on between the “giants” and the “little people”. When corporations, advertising and media tell us that to be “enough” we need to waltz into the nearest store and get what ever it takes to be “o.k.” or “cool” or “normal”. When we believe the messages in advertising, and we couple this with wanting to belong and be liked, we are engaged in a dance with “the giants”. This dance comes with a price. The price paid is our own spiritual and physical health, the well-being of other species, and the health of the entire planet.

The messages bombard us daily: If you have the right clothes, the right body, the right job, the perfect hair, no wrinkles, the right house, the perfect lawn, white teeth, the latest car, the latest electronic gadgets, and even take the “right” vacations, then you are enough. If you knowingly or unknowingly absorb what you see in advertising and popular media, you may believe that you are not enough. You may believe that you don’t have enough. This thinking is at the base of our consumer culture. The U.S. comprises 5% of the world’s population and consumes 30% of the world’s resources. This consumption pattern is spreading globally. The U.S. sets an example for the world. Individuals in the U.S. set an example for each other. It is time for us to be living examples of what we want to create in the world.

What will it take to know that we are enough and we have enough? How can we, the “little people” determine what dance we are going to engage in with the “giants”?

There is nothing more powerful than what you choose as an individual. What would happen if you chose to live in alignment with your values? Who would you be without your current stories of how you have to show up in the world to “fit in”?

Redefining this dance with the “giants” is going to take no less than a leap of courage on everyone’s part. We can stop ourselves whenever we are about to engage in spending money on an item or an activity and ask ourselves if this purchase is really in alignment with our values. Money and the demand for products is the most constant dance we do with the “giants”. If we can change that dance to one of compassion and sustainability, the “giants” will have no choice but to follow our steps.

Go to the wallet card on this website under the “Resources” button for an easy way to remind yourself about what you want to support.