”Perspectives For a Culture in Crisis:” I Am Only One - Expanding Our Impact in the World

Life Talk with Craig Lounsbrough

I am only one. That’s all I am. I am only one and I will always be only one. I was born as one, I will live as one, and on the day of my death I will die as one. In this journey that we all call life, I am and will always be completely restricted and wholly limited to being one and only one. And all of those daunting realities strike me as miserably pathetic and colossally discouraging. Sadly, I am only one.

I am only one in a mammoth sea of surging and foaming humanity within which my main and often single goal is simply to survive. The winds will blow and the tides will roll in whatever way they spuriously and often callously choose to blow and roll. And whatever choice they make will dictate the ways that I will go because I’m far too small to swim against them, and far too weak to even dare chart a different course from theirs. I am only one, and being one doesn’t appear to be enough.

I am only one, and because I am, even the reality of my existence is of little note. In the span of this minute, or this hour, or this day, or in the span of history itself my existence will not only be largely disregarded, it won’t even register enough to acknowledge that I was here in the first place. Even the briefest notation that I have made or will make on the pages of history will be entirely lost in the seemingly infinite volumes of tightly written copy that stretch from mankind’s earliest moments to his eventual demise because I am only one.

Living as Being Only One

And so, because I am only one, I relegate myself to being only one. And in relegating myself to being one and only one, I unwittingly embrace the limitations that I perceive are part and parcel of being one and only one. I suit-up in the pathetic apparel of powerlessness, I chart a path of capitulation that’s dictated by the insensitive winds and tides of life, and I bow to the lamentable goal of surrender because I figure that that’s about as good as it gets. And then in some sort of tense angst, I hunker down and wait for whatever’s going to happen to me, letting my mind spin in wild gyrations as I frantically attempt to figure out how I’m going to deal with whatever’s going to happen when it eventually happens.

What Does Being One Really Mean?

What will I do with the fact that I am only one? I am only one in a world that’s spiraling. I am only one in a world that’s rapidly redressing itself in garments that are far from the ethics, morals and values within which it was clothed at birth. I am only one in a culture that’s lost its moorings and is finding itself on a dangerously churning sea that the culture has cleverly labeled “progressive thinking” or “cutting-edge” or “liberal thinking” in order to avoid the implications of living on such perilous seas. I am only one in a world driven by the insatiable gluttony of selfishness rather than the spirited nourishment that comes from selfless living and self-effacing choices. I am only one in all of that.

But I Am One

But I am one, and that is infinitely better than being “none.” I am one, which puts me on equal footing with everyone else. Every single person in human history who impacted history in ways either large or small faced the same exact dilemma that I am faced with: they were “one” and no more than one. I am only one, but I do not stand as empty or hollow or void. Quite the opposite. This “one” that I am comes tightly packaged with innumerable gifts, talents and abilities that stand at the ready. I am only one, but that “one” that I am is entirely and irrevocably different from any other “one” that has ever lived in the entire expanse of human history. I am only one, but I have inspiring dreams and vitally rich visions for life that are unlike those held by anyone else. I am only one, but I have unbridled access to everyone other “one” around me. Oh yes, I am only one, but I am “one.”

The Opportunity in Being “One”

I am unbelievably privileged to be one, particularly the “one” that I am. I don’t think I’d really want it any other way. But I only get one shot at being “one.” I get this one single, sole opportunity to take this “one” that I am and use it to make a difference in all the other “ones” around me. I have the privilege of impacting the “ones” around me, who will in turn impact other “one’s,” who will in turn impact yet other “ones” . . . and on it goes. I can be one person who impacts the world “one” person at a time, and in doing so I can potentially impact all of the “ones” in all of the world. That’s not a bad deal. So, I’d be wise to take advantage of this one and only one shot I get at this.

It might be wise to consider that I am only one, yet I live in a world of “ones.” That means that I am uniquely suited to impact other “ones” like me. I am what they are. They are what I am. We are all the same. And because that’s the case I have the unique advantage of speaking into their lives because I’m living out their lives, and they’re living out mine. Our existence is shared, our experiences are similar, our joys are pretty much the same and our pain is familiar to all of us. We walk through the same life, with the same experiences and the same challenges. As one and only one person, I am perfectly suited to speak directly into the lives of all the other “one’s” around me. So, why don’t I?

The Fears of Being “One”

The Fear of Not Being Enough

I think that we fear that being “one” is not being enough. Being one is too often seen as being inadequate. The world out there is not some massive mass of people. It is a collection of individuals. By and large, those individuals experience life pretty much the same way that we do. The world is a collection of “ones.” It’s a collection of people that are each one individual just like we are one person. While being “one” makes us perfectly suited to impact all the other “ones” around us, we fear that being one is not enough.

The Fear that We Can’t Be Loud Enough

I also think that we fear that our single voice is not loud enough. We don’t have the volume to be heard over the raucous, roar and interminable noise in our world. We can’t possibly scream loud enough or long enough to be heard in the ruckus and racket that defines the world around us. So our voices are drowned out. Yet, we need to remember that we’re not speaking to the world around us. We’re speaking to the “ones” around us. And because that’s the case, we’re plenty loud enough.

The Fear of Being Rejected

I think that maybe our greatest fear is that we will be heard, and that in being heard we’ll be rejected or discounted or blown-off. It seems that our single biggest fear is rejection. What if we’re heard and in the hearing, we’re labeled as stupid, naïve or ignorant? What if we’re heard and then we’re slapped with accusations of being politically incorrect, culturally ill-informed, or being something of a faith-based moron? What if we take a stand? What if we refuse to compromise? What if we speak against the toxicity that’s seeping into the lives around us? What if what we’re saying isn’t popular or trendy or politically correct?

The Opportunity of Being “One”

I am only one in a mammoth sea of surging and foaming humanity within which my main and often single goal is simply to survive. But I am one, and my oneness is sufficient to forgo surviving and embrace living. The winds will blow and the tides will roll in whatever way they spuriously and often callously choose to blow and roll. And whatever choice they make does not have to dictate the ways that I will go because I am one, and because I am I can swim against them, and dare to chart a different course from theirs. I am only one, and being one is enough.

I am only one, and because I am, the reality of my existence can change the reality of everyone around me. In the span of this minute, or this hour, or this day, or in the span of history itself my existence can be noted, and because I am one it can register enough to acknowledge that I was here. The briefest notations that I have made or will make on the pages of history will add moving lines of inspiration in the seemingly infinite volumes of tightly written copy that stretch from mankind’s earliest moments to his eventual demise because I am “one.”

You have one chance at being “one.” You have been granted one life to touch the other “ones” around you. Being one is being enough. Life’s about being intentional about being the best “one” that you can be, and intentionally touching all the other “ones” around you in a manner that transforms them “one” at a time. In transforming the “ones” in our world we will eventually transform our world. So, go be the “one” that you are. Step up in a world that’s spiraling, confront a culture that has redressed itself, and seize the tattered lines of a nation that has lost its moorings. Be the “one” that you were designed to be and change the world by being that “one.”

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