How can you serve?
Not only that - but how can you serve the future?
I got this idea from an unlikely source - politics, of all things. Right now in Jan 2021, they’re looking to refurb Parliament. Original estimates were variously pegged at - wait for it - 4 billion, 10 billion or even 20 billion pounds.
Here’s what the Times says: “Many MPs fear that it is politically impossible to ask taxpayers to foot the bill at a time when cuts and tax rises will be needed to pay debts incurred during the pandemic.”
Too right, my jolly fellows! We will rip a strip off you that you will never forget, if you try to charge us £20 billion for your posh new clubhouse, while so many British citizens and business people are drowning financially in the wake of COVID and lockdown.
The suggestion was made that MPs and peers might actually have to SHARE lodgings in the same building, while renovations were made. It was suggested that they see this mighty sacrifice as a “gift to the future.”
And while this idea incurs a certain natural amount of eye-rolling - how tough can it be, to share accommodation? I’m sure they won’t be co-camping in a nasty old caravan or anything - there was a turn of phrase there that resonated with me.
It was “gift to the future.”
We do too little of that. And as a species, we need to start doing more of it - and quickly. In the words of Louise Casey, former Deputy Director of homeless charity Shelter: “Caring is not a political issue – it’s doing what is right.”
Ask David Attenborough - he knows exactly what his gift to the future is. I, for one, am watching his current offering “Perfect Planet” with complete attention. Through practicing his art, Attenborough is inspiring us to care, enough that we will change our behaviour.
And change our behaviour we must.
Make 2021 your year of gifting to the future. Stop asking how you can get more of what you want. Start asking how you can give. Start asking, “How can I serve?” Look around you. See where the need lies.
Here at Chuckling Goat, we gifted over £100,000 worth of products to NHS frontliners in the first wave of the pandemic. We’re a small company - that represents a whopping 10% of our annual profits.
Now that the second wave is here, we’re going to get back into harness and begin giving again. Anyone from the NHS can get in touch - we’ll be shipping out our natural lavender Calm Down lotion to soothe your chapped hands, ease your “mask-ne” and lift your spirits. We’re also offering our kefir and Complete Prebiotic, to ease tummies, boost mood and lift energy for NHS heroes struggling to save lives.
We hereby commit to giving our products again - for as long as it takes. We’re doing it for the NHS, for the people they save, for the future. It’s our Gift.
So - join us.
How can you serve? What will you commit to? How can you help?
