Overwhelm the World with Good – Wisdom Wednesday

We think we are powerless to effect change, but can we not choose to overwhelm the world with good  and create an impact equal to or greater than that created by those who choose to overwhelm it with ill?  We all struggle to change the tiniest of habits in our own lives that we abhor. Why wouldn’t we believe it’s impossible to create change powerful enough to counter such a thing as terrorism, the most vicious kind of hate and indifference to human life? And yet, terrorism, like every other act of violence came about as a result of one human choice after another, one small act after another. We have that power as well. We have the same number of choices to overwhelm evil with good.

Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

Desmond Tutu 

The little bit of good that we do may go unnoticed, but it is no less powerful because it has not drawn attention. Our small kindnesses and acts of generosity may not reverberate in the media, or show up in a hashtag on Twitter, but they are no less able to have an impact.

[tweetthis]Peace is the only battle worth waging.” ~ Albert Camus[/tweetthis]

The war we choose to wage, such as a war waged to overwhelm the world with good is no less potent.  Our weapons may be silent, invisible weapons, such as the choice not to engage in the ongoing verbal rhetoric that creates animosity among the ego driven, or the choice to spend time in silent meditation reflecting on all that is good and right and true, or to offer a smile to a stranger, or hug a child. As we walk humbly, yet earnestly and with determination in the direction of all that is good, we can and will overwhelm the world with good.

Let’s draw upon the strength of prayer, meditation, and silence and continue to turn our eyes, our attention, our energy toward that which inspires, creates and reveres life. Let’s continue in earnest to plant flowers, feed souls, nourish children, make music, dance joyfully, speak softly, shout with praise and gratitude for the gifts that we have been given. Each breath we take is a gift. Each choice we make is a prayer. Let’s pray with honesty, vulnerability, and grace, and set aside our greed, our obsession with all that feeds only our ego and set out instead to discover and cultivate our soul. This is how we overwhelm the world with good. This is how we win the war against violence and hate.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead