Do Good, Now

The Ukranian flag flies against a blue sky

Today when I was feeling overwhelmed with sadness about what’s happening in Ukraine, I was reminded of a line from one of my favorite passages: “Do good, now.”

It’s part of a longer quote from the Talmud, a collection of ancient Jewish teachings. Among them is a passage from Rabbi Rami Shapiro that reads:

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief.

Do justly NOW.

Love mercy NOW.

Walk humbly NOW.

You are not obligated to complete the work,

but neither are you free to abandon it.

When I am riddled with anxiety for something that feels so much bigger than my ability to help, this instruction calms me. It reminds me that I do not need to have solutions to the world’s problems. I do not have to know how this ends, or what the right answers are. I do not have to know how to fix the lives that are being upended by this war…. But I do have to do something, when something is happening that is unjust… wrong… dangerous… worsening.

This small passage is both a comfort to me — that it’s okay not to have the power to fix all things — and an imperative to act. If something in the world is too large for me, I can do one right thing. And that one action may by itself be very small, but if it moves the effort forward, then I can be part of something greater than myself, working for good.

Today I chose to find which charities are present in Ukraine and the surrounding nations helping the millions of affected civilians who are in mortal peril or fleeing from their homes. I came up with a list of those that have longstanding positive reputations, who are already on the ground there, and have been vetted and recommended. And to them, I donated what I could afford.

It feels small, but it feels like something.

If you are similarly inclined, here are the links to the charities I chose:

There are many others. You can find additional lists of organizations doing good work for the citizens of Ukraine here and here.

One Comment

  • Candy Halbig

    Thank you for this statement.

    I follow 2 thoughts…

    Look at your Life thru Heavens Eyes. ( yes it’s a song from a kids movie. But the words speak to me)

    The Only Thing Needed For Evil to Win is that Good Men Do Nothing. ( It’s a quote … i probably wrote it wrong but you get the gist.. I hope. )

    I cannot just sit back and do nothing.