MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Is it naive to think that as individuals we can make a difference in this immense world in which we live?  I don’t think so; it may be infinitesimally small, but we touch the world when we touch one another.  Every day, with every encounter with someone we have the opportunity to make a difference.  The smallest act, the briefest encounter, carries with it limitless, and un-imaginable potential to reach far beyond its simple beginning.  We make the world better or worse, by the way we interact with the people around us.

There are the obvious acts of kindness we provide, extending a helping hand, and offering support and friendship in time of need.  This can be done anonymously from a distance, or intimately with personal intensity, depending on the circumstances.  As important as these acts are, they are episodic, and generated by specific needs.  We can do more.

We can shine a light on others; lifting them up and making them feel good about themselves.  We do this by listening, by supporting and encouraging, and by being honest and not posturing or trying to impress.  Love and respect should be the foundation of all interactions, modified of course by personal history, a love that leads us to try to understand and accept people for who and what they are, as well as encourage them to achieve their own self hood.

There are those whose behavior casts a shadow of darkness over others: naysayers who predict failure and can only see the downside of anything - complainers, whose only concern is their own problems, and are delighted to share them with anyone who will listen – belittlers who need to mock others in order to feel good about themselves – converters who need to convince others that they must see things as they do, and the actors, whose main concern is to impress others.

A dear friend, Hal Owens, a retired Methodist minister, has coined the terms “star people” and “shadow people” to describe this behavior.  Each of us can make the world a better place if we maximize our star behavior and minimize the shadows we cast.