Photographer: Leona Lewis
Here are two ways empty nesters can positively take action to change the world without leaving the country.
1. Become an encyclopaedist
How does one become an encyclopaedist I hear you cry? Contribute to Wikipedia. You’ve been around awhile. You must know a lot about something by now.
Wikipedia is the Internet encyclopedia. Wikipedia is kind of a hitchhiker’s guide to the earth, echoing Douglas Adams idea of a hitcher’s guide to the galaxy. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia which that you can access from your Ipad or phone.
Volunteers that comply with Wikipedia’s neutral point of view are continuously creating Wikipedia. Articles can be edited by anyone so flaws can be quickly repaired. This is important because people do rely on this information. Wikipedia is a lot of people’s first port of call.
Of course there are always those who will try to use the system for their own ends. I personally know of a man who changed a Wikipedia entry so he could win an argument at a dinner party. The information was repaired but not before he’d convinced his guest that he was right.
For more information go to www.wikipedia.com.
2. Share your books
Find a book you really like. If you can’t bear to let go of your own book then buy a copy. Register the book on the BookCrossing website and then leave it somewhere to be picked up: a train, a park bench, anywhere. The book will then start its journey into the unknown.
Hopefully it will travel to Rome or a lovely beach somewhere and not the nearest public bin but it’s a risk you have to take. You can track the progress of the book on the website and readers can also comment on the book. If you find a BookCrossing book, read it, go to the website and then pass it on. The book will continue its journey to other readers until it gets lost or someone breaks the chain by not passing it on.
To get started, visit www.bookcrossing.com.
