I turned on the T.V. while waiting for my computer to boot The Boston Marathon bombing had happened just moments before. My earlier topic for this blog post is no longer the word I need to write today. Instead, I turn again to how people of good will make a difference in a world of violence,war, and murder.
Evil, violence and hatred are part of human life. But so are goodness, heroism, compassion, faith and self-sacrificial love.
Often I wonder whether I, Barbara, can do enough good with my life to feel it has been enough. Today is certainly one of those days of questioning.
So I grasp a poem by Sudha Khristmukti of India as I watch the newsfeed from Boston. This is how we go forward. This is where we find our hope. Every life matters and as Anne Frank says, we never have to wait to start making a difference for good.
More Than Enough
“Something is better than nothing,” I say to myself.
Still, another voice persists:
“Will my gift, which appears so meager,
count amidst this sea of other offerings?”
I ache with doubt.
And yet I saw how my leaking faucet filled a bucket last night.
One drop at a time.
More isn’t always the most, and less isn’t always the least.
Approachability. Availability. Dependability.
Listening ear, undersatnding heart.
Words of encouragement,
being present when it matters most.
Selflessness and the gift of self.
If the smallest act to even one life
becomes significant enough,
it might just make a world of difference.
The endless possibilities lie with the One
who can use the whole
of what we think is mearly a mite, a part.
here and now, if we simply present
whatever we are, whatever we can, and whatever we have,
somehow it would be more than enough,
more than worthwhile.
Something is better than nothing.
And nothing is worse than nothing at all.
Pray for the First Responders and medical staff, the injured, grieving and deceased. Do something large or small for good today, tomorrow, this week…all three. Shuck off some bitterness, give up a grudge, listen to someone who needs an ear, be kind even when you don’t want to, work for peace and reconciliation.
Our drops in the bucket will be more than enough when used by the One with whom lies all possibilities.
You’ve heard the story of the starfish, yes? A man was walking down a beach covered with beached star fish, throwing one after another back into the sea. A woman came up to him and said, “You can’t possibly do enough to matter. Why are you even trying?” He said, “It matters to this star fish…. and this one… and this one… ” Or, to quote from my favorite film, “We can do today what we can do today.” And that is enough, for now.