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Listen to thisAs I write it is January 1st, a time when columnists traditionally make a commentary about the year to come. In line with this, I had my list of Soapbox pronouncements picked out and thought the write-up would be easy – until the news from Asia came. Now I am humbled. Faced with knowledge that challenges one’s mortal ability for empathy and general orientation to want to be helpful and generous to people in need, under such circumstances, concern with the more immediate and concrete suddenly seems meaningless.
What can one do that will make any difference at all? What can one think or do in the face of such devastation? Furthermore, remaining still is the issue of wrenching concern to everyone world-wide: the increase in the incidence, scope and intensity of natural disasters: the Florida hurricanes, earlier earthquakes, the Asian tsunami, are sadly just a few examples. Some relate these to global warming, others simply to recognized cyclical variations in natural phenomena. But whatever the reason, they are happening and will continue to happen in the future affecting everyone in some way. So another, more home-related the question arises: Is there a role for the child, youth and family caring professions in dealing with both preparation for and the aftermath of such events and if so, what is it ?
While we all grapple spiritually, emotionally and cognitively with these questions, both personally and for our field, it also seems to me that in the meantime there is one thing we can do: Go on from day to day. There is the phenomenon of “sensitive dependence on initial conditions” in chaos and complexity theory, which is commonly known as the Butterfly Effect. It means that one small action can have, over time, major effects. So we can try to do the best we can for the individual and groups of children and youth we encounter. Continue to work to develop the profession and the leadership that is needed to keep it moving forward. Work to promote those approaches that lead to positive growth. Try to care for each other and for our environment and encourage our young people to do the same. Reduce meanness and pettiness from our thinking and our practices. We may not immediately affect the powerful forces of nature that await at least some people in the world at an unexpected time. But we can still make a difference.
Off-the-Soapbox.
