Call me "Trim Tab"

During this week of testing out some Low Impact actions I keep getting the idea that we are the ones actually trying out these things, so that others can see what we do and realize that it ain't that bad. But so often I hear people say, "There are so many people out there who won't change." or "I feel like I'm fighting an upstream battle, what difference can one person make?"
Consider the following;

"Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Mary -- the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there's a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trim tab. It's a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trim tab. Society thinks it's going right by you, that it's left you altogether. But if you're doing dynamic things mentally, the fact is that you can just put your foot out like that and the whole big ship of state is going to go.
So I said, call me Trim Tab."
-Buckminster Fuller

I say call me "Trim Tab" as well. Call us all that for that matter! It doesn't matter what you do or don't do. You don't have to be "Green", that word is so damned cliche anyways. I'm not trying to green up or to save the planet for that matter. I am however trying to get closer to a way of living that, while it is a healthier lifestyle for both my family and I as well as the planet, is based around sustainability, simplicity, and responsibility. The big three as I see it. It's a slow path, and I suspect a long one. I have to try things out and see what fits; I don't know how things will work out and I won't commit to something that I don't think that I will remain with for any length of time. But still I see so many people out there trying things, inspiring others, motivating them; whether by calling them to action like Crunchy Chicken is so apt at, or by inspiring them by their sheer will like No Impact Man and his extreme experiment.

The Trim Tab on a huge vessel can slowly create enough momentum that it pulls the whole rudder around and in turn changes the course of the whole ship. We can too. Be the Trim Tab, stick your foot out there, cause a little ripple all on your own and who knows, in time we may be able to swing the rudder or even turn the ship.

P~