See something? Say something!

You know, we find inspiration in the most interesting places. I go to school in the city and need to take the subway once in a while. There is an advertising campaign that has been going on for a while where they are trying to keep the subways, buses and trains even safer. Their motto is “If you see something, say something!”. It’s everywhere. Whenever you are traveling on any public transportation, you will bombarded with “If you see something, say something” messages. [Which of course is better than most of the things we are bombarded with J].
With this in mind, we come to my walk. I was walking to school the other day when I found myself in a CVS buying a yogurt for someone. I knew that this person wouldn’t have access to any spoons, so I asked the lady behind the desk - “Hey, do you have spoons?” She said, ‘well, no. But you know what? You should write to the company! Tell them that you think they should have spoons! Honey bunch, if you see something wrong in the world… DO SOMETHING about it!”
As I was walking away, the subway message reverberated in my mind. “If you see something…SAY something!” Don’t just let the world go on as it is, complaining that nothing is right… if you see something that needs to be fixed, well go ahead and fix it!
We’re at the point in life where we don’t have our own families, our own homes, a mortgage and bills to pay. At the same time, we DO have homework, tests, part time jobs, friends and parents, driving lessons, SAT prep…etc. In some ways it is much busier to be a teenager than it is to be a mother. But amidst all the craziness in life it is up to US to look around at the world and do something. It is exactly because we don’t have ‘adult stuff’ to deal with that we are able to be idealistic enough to make a positive change in the world. It is exactly because we’re not adults that the adults in the world will listen.
But of course, if you don’t SEE anything wrong you can’t exactly fix it now can you? Sometimes it’s hard to look outside of ourselves and our own issues to focus out and give to others. That might be the hardest part of volunteering – recognizing that there is a need for your abilities. Every one has SOMETHING that they are great at. Some are good public speakers, some are great with animals, others rock at numbers, someone else is great at music, another is a great magician, another has a soft touch. Whatever your something is, find someone who needs your help and get out and DO IT!
One more thing. You might be reading this and thinking “That’s a great thought, but I just don’t have TIME to do anything like that. I have too much stuff in my life to commit to a big organization, I can’t do it.” And if you would say that I would tell you that you don’t need to be part of something big to be doing something great. There. I said it. You don’t need to be part of something big to do something great. Got that? If you look around at gym class and see that some nebby kid is being picked on… go stick up for her! Go out of your way to be friends with her. Help the janitor put the chairs away at the end of the day. Do the dishes without anyone asking you. Help your elderly neighbor take out the garbage.
If it were up to me, I would change that motto. Instead of “if you see something say something.” Maybe we could change it to “If you see something, DO something!”
Hashem should bless us with the ability to always SEE what is going on around us, tune in, and be able to give in the best way possible. May we merit to be able to change the world a little bit at a time.