Me to We-Finding Meaning in a Material World by Craig and
Marc Kielburger discusses the nature of transcendence from the Me mentality to
that of We. It is a process of mini-enlightenments about the nature of oneself,
the nature of the world, and the ideologies that limit greater civilizations. This
awareness opens a greater perspective to the possibilities that come from
thinking beyond oneself.
The story starts in childhood where a few simple thoughts of
why some suffer and why poor choices are made enter consciousness. As the child grows into
adulthood this awareness becomes clearer and action is taken to improve upon
the world. Eventually, one comes to the conclusion that we cannot change the
world in one swoop and we resign ourselves to those little things that count.
We learn how to enjoy our lives and do the best we can to improve the world
around us.
A great portion of people live in the Me mentality. These
approaches to life means that choices are made that are primarily
self-consuming and selfish by nature. People make choices that benefit them the
most with little concern for others. The end result is a world of people
pushing, impacting and damaging each other. No one wins!
The We mentality is obtained by those who think beyond
themselves. It is a process of understanding that one is in the world with
other people and has responsibilities to make choices that not only help
themselves but also help others. The We approach is a process of understanding
that when we work together and have empathy for one another we have the
potential to transform our environments.
The book is written in personal testimonial form based
within the experiences and understandings of the authors. They are involved in
saving the children from the blight of this world and contribute to various
newspapers (1).
Their experiences and knowledge led them to helping children around the world
and starting educational programs to improve lives. If we learn anything from this book is that by working together 2014 can be better than 2013. Where would we be in 2040 if we work together?
“It was just a day
like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses
of people joined in”-Rosa Parks.
Kielburger, C. & Kielburger , M. (2013) Me to We-Finding Meaning in a Material World.
NY: Simon & Schuster.
