One Small Gesture

Have you ever wondered if you make a difference in the Grand Scheme of Things? Wondered how you can even make a dent in this big ole world? How does one person affect a life, a group, a city, a nation? Does it matter?

There are times I feel so very small in this world. Insignificant. One person trying to do good in a whirlwind of unkindness and misdeeds. If I watch the news for just one evening I can feel this way immediately.  It makes me sad to see what the media divines to be newsworthy. Deception, stealing, lying, hurting, tragedy...when in my mind the things that need to be broadcast are kindnesses, rescues, charity, bravery, heroism, nobility. Those things are out there-the good things. Surrounding us every day if we just look.  Just because they don't get reported to nations doesn't mean they aren't changing the world.

Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”   I think that is so true. As I pondered whether one small gesture can change things, I was struck with the grand notion and knowledge that YES! it can. We can! Today as I approached a person who is always extremely busy, I was greeted with warmth and very complimentary words. I was not expecting these words, or searching for them. I was just on an errand. This unexpected bright spot was delivered with sincerity and kindness. Although I was having a perfectly wonderful day, my day brightened even further, and I like to think I carried this brightness with me to the people that I came in contact with.  And then maybe they passed some brightness on too. Yes, I think small gestures make a world of difference. They can change a day, a person, a roomful of people, or just one life. But in the end even one life matters.

Mother Teresa

Gandhi
"We must become the change we want to see."
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."

 "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

Thomas S. Monson

“My dear sisters, do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle.”