There are many things that I would like to do with my life. Many different professions that I would like to be a part of. Many opportunities I would like to take. Many places I would like to go. Sometimes, I feel that I am failing myself by not doing something else. But ultimately, I guess, whatever I do, I want to do good and be a part of something good. I want to make a difference.
When I left primary school at 11 years old, there was a leavers' service to celebrate my friends and I ending one chapter in our lives and beginning another - the start of secondary school where we would, once again, be at the bottom of the food chain (unless you had really cool friends a few years above, and I was never that popular). Honestly, I couldn't tell you what words of encouragement were spoken in the hopes of inspiring us - all I remember is being given a parker pen, which, believe it or not, was really exciting back then! But this week, I was invited to a friends leavers' service and got to hear their motivational speech, and I couldn't help but think that it was something that everyone should hear, or perhaps just be reminded of.
There are four things that we all have. These four things are the backbone of what we need to make a difference. Firstly, we have eyes, to see the world around us. To see the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Secondly, we have a heart to feel what we are seeing. We may see pure happiness but we need a heart in order to feel it and to feel the good that can come from it. Instead of happiness, it may be sheer pain and heartbreak that we witness. It will be our heart that stirs up a movement and encourages us to seek change. Thirdly, we have a brain to figure out what we can do. At times it may feel like we are an ant in a world of giants. But there is always something, no matter how small, that can be done! Finally, we have hands and feet to actually go about making change. Each and every one of us, individuals or groups have the means and power to make change happen!
I agree that it may seem that world leaders, politicians, celebrities and athletes are capable of greater change. But are they?? They have press and cameras and a tonne of money (which, lets face it, could be spent in places and given to people that really need it - but that is a whole other topic/rant) but I wonder, if we all truly believed that we were capable of change, how different would this world look? Not even necessarily the world, but our schools, our homes, our workplaces. We can make change possible in little or large measures. But change is change. And it is possible. No matter what we have or what we are going through, we can use that to inspire change. I may have gone through losing a parent to cancer, but through that experience, I found a voice that I didn't know I had. One that I could use to share my story and hopefully help someone else feel like they are not alone. And that can be the same for anyone. For you. You can use whatever you are going through or have been through to inspire change.
There are countless quotes I could write here about being the difference you want to see in the world (see what I did there?) but it is true. If you wish to see something change, you have to be willing to change it. And you have what you need to make a change happen and to make a difference in this world!
Change. It may be a six letter word, but it can be incredibly powerful. You can be incredibly powerful!
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