As the man turned the corner during his daily walk, he reached down to pick up a plastic bag.  His hands, already full of trash, did not have room for much more.   The man whispered to himself, “I always find a bag” as he placed all of the trash into the grocery bag.  After filling the bag, the man continued on his walk, picking up more trash along the route back to his home.

The man walked this route nearly once a week, changing up his path so that he can expand his reach to help “clean up the world,”  as he thought to himself.   No one ever knew what the man was doing, nor did many people actually see him picking up the trash.  Few people in the neighborhood even noticed that tidiness this man brought to their community.  But that is not why the man did this kind deed.  He figured that every bit helps in keeping his community clean.

You might ask yourself, what it is you are doing in the world to “keep it clean” with your actions?  If someone could follow you around without you knowing it, what would they see?  Would they see a person bending down to pick up a piece of trash?  We are not saying that you need to pick up trash wherever you go.  No, we are saying that your actions define who you are.

What are your actions telling others, if someone were watching you?  Do you speak a great game, and then in practice have no actions to back it up?  Do you continually talk about what’s wrong in the world rather than making an attempt to “clean up” the small part of where you live?  Do you continually talk about the government, economy, health care, in negative ways?  If so, it might be time for you to close your lips and to begin taking action.

Again, we are not suggesting that you run for office, or become a physician in a career change.  No, we are simply suggesting, that you find small ways to make a difference.  Maybe rather than talking about the negative in the world, you begin to only talk about positive things – setting an example for others to possibly do the same.  Maybe you look for the good in the world, rather than always complaining about the “bad.”

Maybe you begin to take care of “your house” and look to the extended planet Earth when you make the decision to throw away something that can easily be recycled.  Maybe you give away something that you would normally dispose of in the land fill.  The options are endless, and yet we sometimes fail to see those options.

When we begin to look at the broader picture of the world, and begin to understand that what you do in your little patch of Earth, affects everyone residing on said Earth.  The butterfly that flaps its wings has an influence on the entire world.  That influence may be infantile, but nonetheless it has an influence.   When thousands and millions of butterflies understand this influence, the result becomes magnified.

When you begin to speak with your actions, and your neighbors begin to do the same.  Pretty soon you will have a larger impact on the world, and may begin to see your influence.  However, when it comes down to it, though, you know what you should be doing, and that is often sufficient.

InspiraCard

A wise man speaks little and acts often.  The immature soul, speaks often with little action.  Become wise and let your actions replace your lips.

Written  Tue Mar 11, 2014 7:40-7:54 AM MT