The Power of Commitment and a Singular Vision
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the power of committing to one, singular vision.
I’ve been deeply inspired by the story of William Wilberforce, Great Britain’s leader of the abolitionist movement at the turn of the 18th century. He began as a young 21-year-old man in parliament in 1784 and led the campaign for the abolishment of the British Slave Trade for over 20 years, until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. The British slave trade was ultimately abolished in 1833, just three days before Wilberforce’s death.
Before Wilberforce, few in society openly opposed the Slave Trade at all. Slavery had been an accepted aspect of society for centuries. It was through the tireless work of Wilberforce and a small group of activists, year after year, decade after decade, that eventually the momentum to overturn the Slave Trade became the predominant sentiment of the day.
Why am I even bringing this up, you ask? What does this even have to do with women physicians or healing the culture of medicine?
What deeply inspires me, is the depth of Wilberforce’s steadfast conviction, morality, and faith. The depth of his commitment throughout his entire life to his one singular vision of abolishing slavery and creating a more just world, even though many thought him insane. And yet, by bringing about the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, this made the eventual abolishment of slavery in 1833 possible. While slavery sadly still exists today in our modern world in many forms, what Wilberforce did do, was change society’s heart and mindset about slavery forever. Nowhere in our modern world do we now think of slavery as acceptable. We have a moral opposition to the concept of slavery – because Wilberforce and his contemporaries changed our hearts, and our minds, forever.
I was talking with a dear friend recently, who verbalized how overwhelming she finds this gargantuan task of addressing gender equity, creating a brighter future for women in medicine, and healing our culture of medicine. What Wilberforce and the abolitionists help us to realize is that when even a small, committed group of us can touch and reach people’s hearts, this is how we create cultural transformation, policy and ultimately, change.
Changing people’s hearts takes time – and it’s possible. Wilberforce led this cultural transformation during his lifetime and created ripple effects we are still seeing today over 200 years later. And, we know we still have so far to go – to create the just, compassionate, and loving world we know is possible.
His singular vision was to abolish slavery in Great Britain – and he did it, during his lifetime.
What will be our generation’s legacy? How will we touch and reach the hearts and minds of others – to ultimately create a better world at the end of our lives than the one we found when we entered it?
One small action. One singular vision. One commitment.
This is what I think of constantly. And I know deep in my gut that it’s possible.
