Do the thing you can do
Food price inflation is creating new levels of hunger and poverty among the world’s poorest; we are increasingly aware that we are part of an invasive species that is doing irreparable damage to our small planet; we hear almost daily that we are not saving enough for retirement.
In the face of all of this, we feel insufficient.
But Helen Keller had a beautiful response to those feelings of inadequacy: “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
Living life richly means dedicating our moments to doing the right thing that lays before us to do. We can’t solve the problems that create world hunger, but we can give what we can to the organizations that are working to feed people now. (Visit Canadahelps.org.) We can’t heal the environment but we can choose to take our gas-guzzling vehicle off the road, or change our light bulbs, or wash our clothes in cold water. (That will help the financial plan, too.) We can’t create a million-dollar retirement portfolio, but we can choose to spend only what we have to this month, and to apply the savings to our mortgage.
Small steps in the right direction are the only way to attain any goal; doing the right thing, one person at a time, is the only way to change the world. Celebrating our relationships, our small steps; the right thing, quietly achieved — that is the only way to joy.