In It for Life: Maximizing Longevity
The Power of One:
Making a Difference for the World in Our Later Years (Part II)
By Tim Lybarger
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
– Arthur Ashe
He’s Crazy
Jadav Payeng lives in India on a river island — the largest river island in the world —named Majuli. He makes a living selling cow’s milk in his nearby village. As a teenager, he could not ignore the barren landscape that drought and erosion had brought to his surroundings. He resolved to do something about it. But, what can one man of little resources do to change an entire landscape? Lobby the government? Create a protest movement? Write editorials in the local paper?
He could plant a single tree. And, at the age of 16, he did just that. And the next day he planted another. The next day another. Every day for 40 years.
His neighbors called him “crazy.”
He has lost count of how many trees he’s planted, but as he says, “You plant one or two trees, and they have to seed. And once they seed, the wind knows how to plant them, the birds here know how to sow them, cows know, elephants know, even the river knows. The entire ecosystem knows.”
Now, where once a desolate scene dominated his island, there stands a forest larger than New York City’s Central Park — 1360 acres. Moreover, Payeng’s forest is now populated with a wide range of indigenous fauna, including elephants, Bengal tigers, wild boar, rhinos, deer, reptiles and birds.
Dubbed the “Forest Man of India,” Payeng has been recognized by the local government as a civilian hero for his work. His efforts even inspired a short documentary, Forest Man,* to showcase his story and encourage others to take action on their own inspirations to make the world a better place.
A Calling
Above all else, later life is a call to action. As in Payeng’s barren landscape, what issue repeatedly comes to mind, so much so that you cannot ignore it? What issue says, “This is not right. Someone needs to do something about it.”
Then resolve to be the one who acts. Embrace that inspiration, no matter how crazy it may seem. In our later years, we have the luxury of caring less what people think of us anyway.
Baby Steps
How does one of little means make such a difference?
Just do it. Small steps — one at a time, over time, with great consistency, and in a way that taps into the power of natural systems, like Payeng’s forest ecosystem. Do not wait for the perfect plan and the feeling of confidence to come. If we doubt ourselves but are still motivated to act, then we are ready. We are competent enough to begin by taking the first step. We don’t need to overthink it. Just start by taking action, then observe, learn, improve, and then act again.
A persistent sequence of baby steps, wisely directed, has the power to generate magical returns through the principle of compounding.
One act a day, for even just a year, can change the world for the better!
* video and photo courtesy YouTube (youtube.com/watch?v=HkZDSqyE1do)
