This Social Activist Wants You To Use “Micro-Gestures” To Make A Difference

Homelessness and hunger: two very complex, vast social issues. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the weight of them, as it ultimately takes a dismantling of our systems and structures in place to truly get to the root of the problem. Which may have you wonder: Is there anything you can do on the ground level that actually makes a difference? 

Ask LaRayia Gaston, activist and founder of the nonprofit organization Lunch On Me, and the answer is a resounding yes. “We can get overwhelmed by the problems,” she says on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast. “[But] the state of the world is no one person’s problem to solve… It’s all of us showing up, doing our part, and things will cancel out themselves.” (She also spoke about this very topic at mbg’s revitalize event back in 2018, as well as in mindbodygreen’s very first documentary.) 

In other words, we can focus on micro-gestures to lessen the burden on homeless and hungry individuals, which in turn creates a chain reaction of positivity and love. What do we mean? Let Gaston explain below.