You can't change the world

Photo: My office in Lima; sweetheart, please note the water bottle.

"You can't change the world. No one has that much power." It took a long time for the sting of those words to wear off. When I was much younger I thought I could actually change the world. I was convinced that if I worked hard enough I could make a lasting impact. Then, one day, someone said these prophetic words to me. I think they were just trying to correct the shallow thinking of a naive young man. They really caused me to think.

I don't think I can change the world anymore . . . I know I am changing the world! No not in the arrogant, the world revolves around me way; but rather, I know that simply living my life is changing the world. By making the choices we make everyday, by committing to spend our time and energies in the way that we do - we are changing the world. Our impact, however great or small, changes the world whether we recognize it or not.

The real challenge is to live a life committed to making choices that hold the opportunity to diminish poverty, to assure health, and to value all life. My challenge is to make choices that recognize the great disparities that exist in the world and accepect the great impact of my choices. Because, whether I like it or not, my choices help to change the world everyday.

I had a conversation the other day in which someone asked me if I thought helping one person held the potential to make a difference in the world. My answer was a resounding yes. A "yes" for so many reason.

We can't know what happens to our "gifts" when we give them to others. We can't fully know the impact that helping others has on us. We do not know what happens when we help others to reach their goals or to build a life they desire. There is a multiplying factor. A sort of cumulative effect when we all start directing our choices toward a bigger change.

Am I going to change the world? Certainly not by myself - but most definitely with the help from all of us working together.