“The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention.” Japanese Proverb
This weekend I read an article from the Associated Press on guerrilla gardeners who silently and secretly beautify their cities. Guerrilla gardeners are a global movement of people committed to the “war against the neglect of public space.” They engage in the illicit cultivation of low maintenance gardens in empty lots or overgrown public spaces. These guerrilla gardeners infiltrate littered freeway off ramps and highway medians like rebel soldiers on a stealth mission. Armed with bags of seeds, shovels and trowels, these warriors transform dead city space into living beauty under the cover of darkness. The movement began as a way to stimulate inner-city renewal but has now spread around the world to cities large and small.
I am inspired by the guerilla gardeners random acts of gardening. Planting a few seeds in a vacant lot, highway median or even a foreclosed property in the neighborhood is a simple yet profound way to help the community. Not only did the simplicity touch me but the fact that they are so highly organized. With “troops” throughout the world members can easily find local “digs.” The members share snaps and stories about their discrete digs and celebrate the transformative results of their midnight missions.
In honor of all the guerilla gardeners out there, this week for the Monday Mitzvah I challenge everyone to do a guerilla good deed. Allow yourself to be surprised by whatever opportunity emerges. Perhaps it will be picking up a piece of trash that happens to catch your eye or sending money to an unfortunate family that grabs your attention on the news. Maybe you will see an elderly neighbor and invite them over to your house for coffee or you will have the opportunity to scatter some seeds in a vacant lot.
The really fun and interesting part of this challenge will be to see what calls to you. What do you notice? What needs to be done? As you do your guerrilla good deeds this week share them with us. Respond to this post in the comment section and let us know what you did and how you did it. It will be inspiring to hear everyone’s guerrilla good deeds. Let us know how you found the opportunity and why it spoke to your heart.
This is going to be a great week. I can’t wait to hear from everyone.
July 7th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
what a cool idea! thanks for sharing….
July 11th, 2008 at 4:17 am
Yesterday Sun Microsystems had a major reduction in force. Since the layoff was large and I know a lot of people at Sun, I was sure I would know at least some of the people affected. So when I found out who was affected, I offered to review resumes and make referrals for other job openings. It’s a tough time for anyone to be unemployed.