“Everyone wants a village, but no one wants to be a villager.”
I first heard this saying on comedian Caleb Hearon’s podcast a few months ago. It describes the phenomenon of people advocating for an ideal organized situation but not taking the small steps to actually bring it to fruition. He was saying it as a punch line, but even after finishing the episode, I couldn’t get this idea out of my head.
It is very important to be informed about current events and have convictions about how the world should be. However, we often carry these ideas heavily in a political context but neglect to hold them in our daily lives. Many times, we overlook the act of actually living out the values we expect from society as a whole. Creighton students are adamant about reaching out to those on the margins, the most vulnerable of our society, but won’t talk to the person sitting alone in class. They boast ideas of equity and fairness but won’t pull their weight in a group project. We love the idea of diversity, until it comes to someone speaking an opinion that is not our own. People yearn for a more compassionate world but won’t get up to help their mom with the dishes.
When did we forget our fourth-grade teacher quoting Mother Theresa’s “Do small things with great love?” When will we start realizing that we’re not going to see the change we want in the world without implementing these changes in our daily behavior?
It may sound like a hot take, but I think the reason people are unable to be villagers is because doing these small acts is supremely more difficult than championing for something big. It is easy to go online and post an infographic about the need for people in power to take accountability. What’s difficult is owning up to your friends and apologizing for something you shouldn’t have said. It’s easy to preach about boundaries but difficult to say no to the toxic friend who keeps asking for favors. Small actions are often more vulnerable, awkward and less immediately relieving. However, they are overwhelmingly more impactful and available to us every day.
Villages aren’t built on words and ideas; they’re built on the small decisions we make every day. You want to start a movement for the greater good of society? Start by giving the person next to you in the Starbucks line a compliment. Have an honest and respectful conversation with someone you disagree with and see what you can learn from them. Begin with the micro because the macro won’t be influenced without it. Start being a villager and see how strong the village can become.