Don’t Do Nothing
“Don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything!”
Those are the inspiring words of Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible.
Many people feel they don’t know what to do in the face of the rampant insanity and inhumanity we see, hear, and read about every day.
I am a huge proponent of small steps, so I was excited to read an article in the Spring 2026 issue of Sierra, the quarterly publication of the Sierra Club. The title of the article is “One Step at a Time, How hiking taught me to be a better climate activist.”
The author, Cara Benson, recounts her journey to one of the upper glaciers of Mt. Rainer, in the state of Washington. The climb of more than 14,000 feet was excruciating! She writes about how every step hurt, and she wanted to give up! She explains that feeling was not dissimilar to how she often feels that way about the climate and environmental crises our planet faces.
Benson reflects how the strategies that helped her continue are very similar to those we must invoke to fight for a livable planet.
The key to reaching the top of Mt. Rainer was by taking one step at a time. Whenever the climb seemed impossible, she asked herself, “Could I go one more step?” And each time, she realized she could take one more step. The steps accumulated until she reached the summit crater.
This perspective is the same one we must take, one action at a time to preserve a livable planet where each citizen, wherever they live, has the opportunity enshrined in our Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Benson describes another aspect of achieving success – she did not go alone. She roped up with an encouraging partner who cheered her on when she doubted she could take even one more step. In those moments of doubt and fear, he shouted, “You can do it!”
That is the same perspective that Ezra Levin offers, “Don’t be alone.”
Take One More Step and Then One More Step…
Benson reflects on another facet of her success. She says, “I learned to take multiple breaths for every footfall.” It’s the process of Step – Pause – Step – Pause! “Rest is fundamental to serving a higher purpose!”
Let us each take one more small step, one more breath, then another!
Don’t be alone so we “Don’t do nothing because we can’t do everything!”
