Ken, I am not so sure that sadness is the driving point that drives people forward. I believe it to be the knowledge that things can be done and that they can be the ones that start it off. My wife and I have this discussion constantly as I am the hopeful optimist and she says that she is a realist. It is my belief that everyone makes a contribution to society. The issue lies in what that contribution is. Positive, negative or neutral. There are many that hide their heads in the sand and let life go by. This is probably the majority of people. There are those that do all they can to disrupt everything that is good in society. These people are the minority. Then there are all those that take time out of their busy life to help others and try to improve society in general. Whether it is going to a home for the aged, helping a Girl Guide group, helping build homes, going overseas to help in poor areas or work with a FIRST team, all are making a contribution. Yes there are dreamers that see what others do not and idealist with grandiose ideas but without the people that implement the the idea , nothing gets accomplished. You brought up Dean as an example, a figurehead for sure, but to whom does he give his homework? How many teams has he mentored and at how many events has he volunteered? I guess that my thoughts are as to which is more important, the salesman that sells you the car or the people that design, build and test it.
In the year 1998 I took a one month trip to Burkina Faso. I went to assist a missionary family that have ben there for years. This is a very poor country with totally different conditions than those we see here. One of the jobs that my friend had was to try and teach farming and help with water issues. Wells were built and gardens planted. After a year or so the plants died and the wells broke down. Even though there were parts and people were trained they wells went to waste. I have spoken to some of these people and believe me they are happy people but they don't have the drive to make things better. It may be that for hundreds of years there was no hope so they became accustom to their lifestyle I don't know. I can tell you that the people there were more open and willing to help than a lot of the people here. They would gladly share what they had with us even if it meant that they had less. What a humbling experience.
I hope that you in your search can find the thing that you are looking for. Your ability to put into words your passion and desires is overwhelming. Maybe your greatest gift is one that you are overlooking, being your ability to put onto paper such compelling thoughts. Look within and search yourself, see what drives you and put it to work. Remember that a carpenter without a hammer and a saw is just another person walking the streets.
Excuse me for my long winded rant as sometimes you stir the passions in me with your loooonnngggg writings.
