Why do anything?

I can't make every thing better, so why bother making anything better? I can't solve the problem of world hunger, so why should I bother to recycle? Isn't it just too much to ask to ask me to try to change ANYTHING for the better if I can't change the world?

Many folks just give up making positive changes because the need is so overwhelming. Have you been to that point? Are you there now?

You know the old adage "The longest journey begins with the first step." But what if I can't even see the end of the journey? What if it is beyond my vision? Why even start if I know I can't finish?

I don't join marathons because I know I can't finish one. I can't walk that far. I can barely finish walking a tenth of a mile these days. What would be the point?

I don't know. What I do believe, though, is that if I keep walking the tenth of a mile until it becomes a quarter of a mile, I will feel good about doing it. And it will make me stronger. And I might even inspire someone else to do something that seems really hard to accomplish.

That's why I am walking more every week. It feels good. It makes me stronger. And it might inspire someone else to start walking or running or some other tough thing to do.

And I guess that is why I want to do things to change the world, even if they are small things. I can change the world for someone in some small way. That feels good. It makes me stronger. And I hope to inspire someone else to do it too.

Drops of water wearing away  the stone.

Sometimes the world's problems seem impossible to solve, improbable even. Just remember: nothing is as it seems. Grand Canyon was once a tiny crack. Have you SEEN Grand Canyon?

Yeah. You get it.

So why do you do what you do?


Today's daily dozen to-do list:

• Gather a few neighbors to dopt an entrance to your neighborhood and periodically have a get-together to keep it weeded and cleaned up. Serve refreshments and make it a Saturday morning party!
• Send cards or letters of appreciation to people you read about in the news who have done good deeds. Send kind thoughts to people you hear about in your community who have suffered a setback. Send "Thinking of You" cards to acquaintances who may be struggling with some issue in their life.
• Write a note to the supervisor of someone who has been particularly helpful, letting him or her know how the employee helped you.
• Collect stories from family members about kind acts, both given and received, and create a family scrapbook. If you have photos, include them with the stories. As years go by and as your children grow, all of yu can review the many ways that kindness has touched your family's life.
• Spruce up the yard of a neighbor or friend who is ill or who has just had surgery or a death in the family.
• Smile and say "hello" to someone you don't know.
• Save box tops for education and donate to a local school, even if you don't have children.
• Create or donate floral arrangements for a senior center, nursing home, police station, hospital or the home-bound.
• Set aside a portion of your garden for a neighbor child to tend, and work in the garden together, offering ideas and expertise as you go. Or simply help a child start a vegetable plant, teach him or her how to tend it, and allow them to take the produce home.
• Sponsor a "Kindness Zone" or "practice Random Acts of Kindness" sign at entrances to the downtown area of your community.
• Put notes of encouragement in library books for someone else to find. [Don't write in the books, of course.]
• Prepare treats for neighbors, emergency workers, mail carriers, coworkers, military personnel, or other community members, along with a note of appreciation. Drop off homemade baked goods to the nearest fire station, police station, emergency room, post office, etc.,  to let them know how much they are appreciated.