Environmental activist Wangari Maathai understands that we’re constantly being bombarded by problems we face, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. She has a story about a hummingbird that may help.
A raging fire is burning in the jungle.
All images by “Dirt! The Movie.”
It’s such an overwhelming disaster that all of the animals are watching the conflagration in shock.
A hummingbird says, “I’m going to do something about the fire.”
It flies to the nearest stream and takes a drop of water.
It races back to the fire, where it drops the water onto the flames. Back and forth it goes, over and over, while the larger animals — like the elephant whose trunk could deliver so much more water — stand watching.
Eventually they ask the hummingbird, “What do you think you can do? You’re too little!”
Without pausing, the hummingbird answers:
The story has a simple point.
“I may feel insignificant, but I certainly don’t want to be like the animals watching the planet goes down the drain. I will be a hummingbird. I will do the best I can.” — Wangari Maathai
