inspiration
The Power of Half
by Hannah Salwen
Fourteen-year-old Hannah Salwen’s awaken- ing to the urgent need for social justice led to a unanimous family decision to dramatically change the focus of all of their lives. They sold their huge historic house, moved into a more modest home and gave half of the sale price to charity.
In The Power of Half, co-authored with her
father, Hannah describes how the project connected her family and lays out how others can undertake their own project (of any size). Hannah’s work inspires us all to take another look at our own relation- ships and our ability to make a difference in the world.
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walking. The toe-gripping habit can lead to hammer toes, a problem that can be easily corrected with new footwear choices and diligent practice of foot exercises. The same is true for bunions, as long as we also correct our walking patterns. As a final note, remember that while a high-heeled or pointy-toed shoe may make us feel sexy, a limping or stiff gait looks far less attractive than a youth- ful, powerful stride.
Katy Bowman, a biomechanics scien- tist, holds a master’s degree in kinesiol- ogy and is director of the Restorative Exercise Institute in Ventura, CA. She is the creator of the Aligned and Well™ DVD series of gentle corrective exer- cise prescriptions, including Fix Your Feet (AlignedAndWell.com). Learn more at KatySays.com.
s the British philosopher Edmund Burke said, “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” I know exactly what he was talking about.
Before our family Power of Half project, I kept telling myself that no matter how hard I tried or how much money I gave to causes, I would never be able to fully solve any of the world’s big problems. When I worked at Café 458, the Atlanta restaurant for home- less men and women, I saw dozens of people come in looking depressed and lonely. I didn’t see them as individu- als, but instead as a group called “the homeless.”
One day, I heard two homeless men talking about a college basket- ball game that I had watched with my dad the night before. I snapped to the realization that these are people, and not just some anonymous group. How stupid and rude I had been to see them as different from me. Having that epiphany was a big step for me. In that split second of
comprehension, I switched to see- ing people in need as individuals; the problem of homelessness and hunger seemed smaller and I felt like I could make more of a difference. I also started believing that I could help be- cause I was aware of their problem on a personal level.
I believe that no matter how little you have, it’s worth parting with half of something in order to make a differ- ence. Sometimes giving time is better than giving away money or clothes. The point is not as much about person- al sacrifice as it is realizing how much you have available to give in time, talent and treasure to improve someone else’s life.
Excerpted from “Hannah’s Take” in The
Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back,”
by Kevin Salwen and Hannah Salwen,
© 2010. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Find more information on creating your own proj- ect via the family’s CD, blog and study guide; visit ThePowerOfHalf.com.
natural awakenings
May 2010
43
photo by Cecilia Ortiz
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