Cecilia Weckstrom

Pro bono publico (usually shortened to pro bono) is a phrase derived from Latin meaning “for the public good”. The term is generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment as a public service.

In my case I had the privilege to meet Andrea Coleman, the CEO of Riders for Health, at the Wavelength event last autumn and finally found a way to bring charity work back into my life. Some of you might remember I started my working life at Peacechild International – a fantastic organisation devoted to empowering young people to be the change they want to see in the world.

I realised back then that for me, meaning is extremely important in whatever I do, and that notion of making a difference really has an amazing capacity to inspire the very best in me. I’m very fortunate to work for the LEGO Group, another organisation devoted to a cause I am equally passionate about, which is Inspiring and Developing the Builders of Tomorrow – here of course the builders of tomorrow is meant in the widest sense and metaphorically, not only the employees of the construction industry, although they count too!

So is there time in the day for doing more? Does one even want to do more you may ask and after a lot of deliberation I have come to the conclusion that yes, absolutely. Life is not something to be wasted sitting on the couch watching TV, my creative brain goes to waste if I only use it at work during the day and not in my spare time.

There are countless things to learn, be inspired by and the more we can challenge our brain to think in new ways, by doing different things, working on different things, with different people, in different circumstances – we grow  our brain, literally.  In fact, recent findings suggest that contrary to popular belief we are not born with a finite number of brain cells, which inevitably start declining in numbers after we pass the age of 40. In fact, we can grow new cells and forge new connections throughout our life and our brain does that if we feed it with as much different stimuli as possible. It is a muscle, and the more movements you engage in, the more versatile the muscle becomes.

I also realised that persisting with the old model that one has to get paid for everything one does, is in fact a huge limiter. This sounds contrary to the current situation where the world is going to hell in a handbasket, while some greedy folks persist in keeping hold of their huge bonuses. For me, I’m fortunate to have enough to keep a roof over my head, food on the table and a couple of nice bicycles in the living room (at least for now!) and taking the good Dalai Lama’s advice to heart that material possessions are a burden, he is right.

Less is more and what adds meaning to our lives is not the stuff we own but a sense of meaning, and for me happiness is the moments I am creative, working with likeminded individuals together making a difference. Therefore doing some pro bono work for people who really need a hand, is making me the wealthiest person I could be…on the inside, where it matters.