The small things that make a community a better place for everyone.
I think the larger argument here is why should you anyways rely and contribute back to the community. And I mean, what is the community?
If you look back into few years back into your life, you will definitely come to a point where you were struggling and knowingly or unknowingly, you were helped by a colleague, friend or if the universe conspired, then a stranger. This is not that kind of payback time, but the question is simple, how did you feel at that point? and what did you do after.
There is an old saying, only the one who has can really give.
Its sometimes very literally interpreted. You then to think this is about donations and being big but it's the opposite. We need just have a large heart or a mentality to understand how things work.
A few years back while I was looking at international movements, I had come across this movement / organization who called themselves “Random Acts of Kindness” and they used small but effective means of display of affection.
They would clean up a street and leave it decorated with flowers and paint overnight. They would help an orphanage. It sorts of had this spirit to engage with the world in its own terms to make it better in the small ways it can.
The idea just stuck to my head
Another argument that gets thrown around is that you are wasting your time in working with any community, or that they are only eating up your time an energy. But if you look closely, communities drive a lot of FREE and quality content that you have used.
Used Wikipedia, ever? Donate to that institution? Ever edited a document on Wikipedia? Too much to ask for using Wikipedia for over 5 years? 10 years?
The point is very simple, in the design fraternity you are a stakeholder but a by stander. Like you are a stakeholder in your govt agendas or your office policies on work and timing. You are a stakeholder. By creating and contributing, giving in small bits, you let the coming generation a lending hand like you were given. You make the world a kinder place and left it a litter better.
Its not about how much, its about a little hand every now and then. Maybe review someone articles, fill out thier college students questionnaire, write about your perspective in design … argue for rights and better work flow, at work, with colleagues and with the fraternity. No one has to really take charge here, everyone has to do a little act of kindness to make everything better than it was before.
Gandhi said, everything you do in life will be insignificant. But you still ought to do it, cause no one else will. — Remember Me, 2010
