It All Comes Down To You

I am a bit of a news addict. I was raised in a home where the newspaper and evening news were a part of daily life -- both for consumption and discussion. I married a man with a similar background. Plus I spent a good number of my early professional years as a newspaper reporter and editor. All these reasons mean that I feel incomplete and out of touch if I haven't at least reviewed the day's headlines and top stories.

Even so there are days when I just can't watch. There are days when I skim quickly past headlines in search of something hopeful and positive. There are days when I look at our world and I despair.

There is too much suffering in the world. There is hunger and disease. There is war and crime. There is disaster and destruction.

Too often the suffering is caused by other humans and too often too little is done to assuage it. The scope of the suffering is so immense that I feel powerless to help. Worse, I feel that even my larger church organization or my government can not stop the suffering. The problem is simply too overwhelming to be solved.That is defeatist thinking and that is exactly the kind of thinking that causes suffering on such scale to continue.

I have to remind myself that anything is possible if we all do our part to make the world a better place and to ease the suffering of others.Some people sit back smugly and feel that as long as they do not commit crimes or hurt others that they are contributing to the betterment of society. They are right, but only to a point.

The first job we must face as a member of society is to follow the rules, but that is not enough. In order for society to function we must also contribute to the greater good.It is easy to become paralyzed by the scope of a problem and it is even easier to simply believe it is the responsbility of some other person or group to solve.

However in the end it all comes to the individual. What can you do today? What can you do this week? What can you do this month? Don't think of a large, grandiose project that you may not be able to see through. Think small and simple. What can you give and what can you do?.

No, you can't solve the big problem but you can make a difference in the life of one person or one family and in the end that will be enough. It will be enough because you are not simply one person. Your actions impact the lives of others and more than that your actions inspire the actions of others and so ripples of change spread out from your small action to create great waves of change. That is how large scale problems are solved and that is how the world becomes a better place for everyone.It is not enough to simply be right -- you must do right as well.

That means more than obeying the rules of law and society. That means contributing to the greater good through your thoughts, words, and deeds. It all comes down to you and you are enough.

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By: Deanna Mascle