The List.. Kony 2012 Style.

**What would a Kony post be without a picture of a cute African child??**

Unless you have been hiding under a rock you might have heard a thing or two about the Kony 2012 movement.  If you did not actually watch the video, I'm sure you at least saw it pop up on your facebook news feed about 100 times. Last I checked the video has over a 100 MILLION views..crazy.  Also.. since the launch of the video the director of the video had a bit of a melt down, a very public melt down. The whole thing, from the 100 million views to the public melt-down has captured my attention.  I honestly think it's the human rawness of it all.. This is a true life story..how life tends to be for most of us normal schmucks, so...

I'm honoring it the best way I know how.. The List.

10 things I learned from Kony 2012.

10.  Be Naive 

This story is a David and Goliath story, a group of people coming together, moving across political and religious lines towards a greater good.  It sounds so simplistic and naive that my inner skeptic could not HELP but start in.. but wow, what if it actually works?

"When a thing has to be attempted, one must never think about possibility or impossibility". C.S. Lewis

9.   Facebook=complete game changer. (duh)

NO ONE can deny our world has been changed by the invention of facebook.  Think about that for a minute...  You and I are an active part of an invention that has seriously forever changed our lives.
(I guess the bigger question is..do we use that power for good or for evil?)

8.  Social media does not equate physically doing something.

One of the (many) problems that has come along with the new social media frontier is the feeling that we are actually apart of something just because we like it, repost it, tweet it, blog, ect...
There is a huge chasm between tweeting it and doing it.

In a way it's a little like only opening half of a gift, we miss out on so much by not making a real life human connection, the sexiness goes away really fast on facebook.  Getting your hands dirty brings life and meaning to your cause, makes it so much more personal.

7.  Rejoice in others success.

I have a dear friend that is doing amazing things in the country of India (www.walletsforwater.com).  Is his work any less valid than Invisible Children? Nope.  There are MANY organizations out there that bust their humps daily to make the world a better place.  Playing ourselves against each other (my NGO is better than yours!) does no good to anyone.. especially the peeps we are all trying to help.

6.  We don't have to give lots.. we just have to give.

(time, talent and finance)

5.  The road is long.

In the beginning of the video Jason talks about how he started on this journey almost 10 years ago.  Seriously 10 YEARS, in our facebook world all has been forgotten in 2 weeks..but 10 years?? Think of all the doors slammed in their face, the "no thank you's", set backs...and to keep going, growing, moving forward, expanding, redirecting. Amazing.

4.  Occupy Wallstreet

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE learn a little lesson on how powerful you can be if you channel your passion in a more um.. positive direction?
(Cardboard signs and squatting? Working well for you?)

3.  Pain can birth amazing stories.

I hold closely to this belief.  I kinda have to.  If the pain I have experienced in life is for nothing...that is a little bit of a dismal thought.  Using those moments to propel us into better stories..better people, well...it sure makes that pain a little bit less of a bitter pill to swallow.

2.  Loyalty. (his peeps are sticking right by his side)

When you find yourself in the middle of one of lifes many storms, who do you want in the boat with you?? You want the people that have your back..always.  You need a person who will smack you around when you screw up as well as smack around other people when they try and take you down.

(note to friends..it's only a matter of WHEN I have a nervous breakdown..not if)

1.  Take care of yourself first.

Being kind to others also means being kind to ourselves.  In our current society of "the busier I am the cooler I am" thinking self care does not sound sound sexy... "I've found the cure for cancer and been awake for the past 72 hours!" sounds waaay sexier.

What did the Creator of the Universe do on the 7th day?? RESTED! Even God needed a little snooze.

Another thing...

You know that secret dream you have deep down inside?? The one that you hold so close and so dear?
You hardly even dare to whisper it late at night when you're all alone..but imagine one day you woke up and the entire world knew about that dream..

then people started turning on you because of the craziness of that dream..because it was too big, too simplistic..not true... ect. ect.

That would be like my worst nightmare..ever..I can't even imagine having something so deeply personal attacked publicly.. really.

Grace, compassion, kindness I beg for these daily, I guess the least I can do is pass it on to others.

I know Kony is about catching an evil killer in Africa, but it's actually taught me a little something about life..right here in Snohomish.