As I am sipping my drink at the hotel terrace, a proverb of recent vintage crosses my mind: “Think globally, act locally.” All the permutations of the proverb follow swiftly, and I go for my laptop. Indeed, all of them are available by now. But I am most impressed by the most improbable of the kindred proverbs: “Think globally, act globally.” Assuming you are but a human, how in the world can you do that? The only proverb of this ilk that makes any sense at all is straightforward: “Think locally, act locally.” Everything else is for the birds, at least when humans are involved. The only problem with my conclusion is on the World Wide Web already. And how. As it turns out, it is an ultra-conservative stance by now. Feeling ever-so-slightly ashamed of myself, I take solace in the fact that I am only a human, too. Thinking is not exactly my forte, and acting is not far behind. The best proverb I can come up with under the circumstances is simple enough: “Think not, act not.” To my delight, this proverb is not yet popular on the World Wide Web. Hooray!

Addendum I (December 3, 2014)

The ultra-conservative permutation of the much-repeated proverb crosses my mind every now and then. “Think locally, act locally,” I keep repeating under my breath. My tribal mind stumbles upon it so regularly that I cannot but consider it with due care. So what if it is embraced by ultra-conservatives, and in the States, of all places? To begin with, the very notion of conservatism is meaningless in the tribal context. That is, it is neither here nor there in the context of the climate change tumult that lurks ahead. If disaster management on the local and thus communal level is all that can be attempted with any hope of success in the long run, this proverb cannot but eventually become its proper motto. Besides, tribal affairs are perforce conservative rather than revolutionary, thus making the term a bit more palatable in spite of its nasty ring in the contemporary political vocabulary. “Think locally, act locally,” I keep repeating a bit more loudly so as to become familiarized with the proverb. But all my doubts disappear when I remember Motovun. My tribal mind pushes all my doubts away in a jiffy. All of a sudden, the proverb sounds just right. Together with Brkač, Kaldir, and San Bartolo within sight from the top of the Motovun hill, this is the world entire. All the villages and towns farther afield are none of Motovun’s business. For that matter, neither are neighboring countries—such as Slovenia and Italy. “Think locally, act locally,” I am ready to shout.

Addendum II (November 2, 2016)

After my liberation earlier this year, I cannot but rejoice at the title of this piece. In spite of its humble birth, the proverb now strikes me as no less than prescient. And its absence from the first addendum makes me rather cross. Lately, not even disaster management attracts much of my attention, for it appears to be well beyond my fellow humans. “Think not, act not,” I repeat with relish. As well as with growing conviction. Happily, when I search for the proverb on the World Wide Web, this piece of mine appears on top of search results. As far as I am concerned, this is the mother of all proverbs. And it sums up all the wisdom accumulated through millennia in no more than four words.