Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves. We dream of changing the world, but don’t want to put in the hard work. Or we dream of transforming our local community, but then shop elsewhere. Sometimes our dreams are big, but forget to make them practical. And so they go unachieved because we are uncertain of where to start.
I do this too. Perhaps it’s part of being human. I dream of people affected by disasters having control over the data we collect about them. I dream of systems used by humanitarian organisations being able to easily share information with each other while everyone uses different systems. I dream of disbersed power so we can all learn from each other and spend more time in human interaction with people.
But these are big, dreams. Perhaps instead of dreaming of data portability, we need start with helping people demand it. Making them aware that it is their right. And helping organisations update their systems so they can provide this right.
But maybe this, too, is still too big.
Dreaming is good. Necessary even. It is human. But so is action. Practical daily action. Don’t stop dreaming, but take action. Start with one thing. Maybe it’s a supper club, coffee and cake in the garden, doing 25% of your shopping in local shops, or something else. For me, I’m starting with workshops in South Sudan on digital literacy next month. And finding money to do more.
Keep dreaming, but don’t let your dreams stop you from taking action.
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