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It has been estimated
that people on our planet
have more than
a trillion (a thousand thousand million) hours
avalable for volunteer projects.
- Clay Shirkey
"Koyaanisqatsi" is a Hopi term for "life out of
balance." Such describes
our world today.
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We cannot all do great things
but we can do small things with great love.
- Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Sit
back for a moment...let the rush and roar of your life
subside...relax...and in a spirit of peace and good will, ask yourself
the following question.
What do you think would happen if we, all of us, got into the habit of doing small things with great love?
What would happen if the desire and commitment to do so shaped the events of our days?
What would happen if we reminded ourselves, every day, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us?
What would happen???
Plenty would happen.
Try it and see.
For any act of love you put forth, however small, touches others, warms
them, and then they, inspired by your example, carry the act
forward...in their hearts, by their actions. Thus does your small
effort, insignificant as it may seem to you, ripple out to greet and
warm whosoever it touches. Thus is the spirit of love carried on
walks, sped along freeways, flown on airplanes and transported to
faraway countries, touching lives here and there as it goes, lighting
the way to a better world. And the loving circles of others then
ripple forth in all directions, warming lives in ways you might never
have expected.
Love, you see, like hatred, is contagious.
So you can see the possibilities here: our own small acts of love could teach the world to dance. 
So many gods, so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind, while
just the art of being kind is all this sad world needs.
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Simple, is it not?
There
is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own
brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
- The Dalai Lama of Tibet
Try it: open the doors of your heart to the world: let the light in:
feel the warmth and the glow of your true nature: be as a child on a
sunny day: just leave the door open and let the light pour in…
Give love a chance…
-John Lennon
But how specifically do we give love a chance?
The beauty is in the simplicity, you see. We give love a chance every
time we do a small things with great love. We do so by
allowing the affairs of our lives to be guided by the Golden
Rule. By dancing in the light, and by teaching others to let
their true nature
show. By setting a good example for our children. By vowing to love
unconditionally.
By
learning to turn the other cheek. By calling an old friend, or someone
who is in hospital or ill at home. By holding open a door, or by baking cookies and
giving them to a local school: by pressing our talents, for even a few minutes a day, into the service
of others. And by caring for the Earth,
our home: the garden in which we are all, ours and future generations, privileged to live.
By
ceasing to buy mindlessly and using the money we might have spent to
help make a better world for our children: by giving away or selling
that which we don't need, and giving the money to a charity of our
choice. By talking to our children about values: about truth:
about inequality and scarcity in the lives of others. By talking to them about the great
power of love to heal, to open doors, to find forgiveness in the thorniest of situations.
Little things. Now and again. You see? What could be simpler than that?
Little things like standing up and speaking out about gratuitous and
mind-numbing
violence on television and in theatres. Like calling a local political
representative and letting him or her know our thoughts on fairness and
justice
in current issues, like war, political corruption, care of the
homeless, poverty, etc. And by voting accordingly, and
encouraging our friends to do the
same. More little things.
You see? One can rattle off a steady stream of Little Things that
can have a great impact, if one but sits quietly and listens to the still small voice inside..
All this is important. Because we as a species on planet earth are at a turning point. For
we are caught, now, between two worlds; one dying and one struggling to
be born: one a world of consumption, boundless materialism, and
environmental degradation, and one a world of self realization, peace
and reverence for life itself. We, all of us, must choose.
Love and only love can light the way.
You and only you, and others like you, can help make that happen.
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