The little things
Picture: Jessica Nash
the paddingtonian
Amy Davoren-Rose on the little things
The world is a lot right now. It feels like every time I click on the news there’s a breaking headline about something else that’s falling apart. Whether it’s climate change or global politics, there’s so much to care about that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what I need to care about the most — especially when I’m trying to decipher events that are unfolding on the other side of the globe.
The last time I felt this way was in 2016. I remember standing in our kitchen on Brown St with my then three-year-old toddler and deciding to withdraw my attention from world events and focus on what was happening locally.
Nothing makes the planet seem more fragile than becoming a parent, and at the time it made sense to engage with problems that were closer to home where at least I had a better chance of making an impact.
I realised that it wasn’t the scope of the news that mattered to me, but rather my ability to do something about it. I spent most of the past decade deliberately short-sighted in the hope that proximity would inspire more action. Ironically, it was COVID that suddenly expanded my view again. There’s nothing like a pandemic to remind you that the line between global and local was never as concrete as you wanted it to be.
During the past few years, as the world’s storms have battered against our front door, my response has evolved. My toddler is almost a teen with his own questions about the world and though my community is always front of mind, I now keep one eye on the horizon because, if nothing else, the world deserves my attention more than ever.
Last year, I was lucky enough to meet British zoologist Jane Goodall. In less than 10 minutes she gifted me a piece of wisdom that I will carry forward for the rest of my life. We were chatting about the slogan, 'Think global, act local', and she challenged me to flip it and consider that thinking locally is the best way to act globally.
Goodall described progress as the cumulation of “millions of little bits” from people who are driving tiny pieces of change in communities all across the world. It's a challenge that I’m more than happy to step up to this year — the messier the world gets, the higher I’ll roll up my sleeves.