Tuesday, January 18, 2011

One.

Yesterday I witnessed one, single act.  This particular act made an impression on me these past two days, and dare I say, will do so the rest of my week.

Yesterday, I met a friend for breakfast.  I arrived a bit early, and he a bit late.  As he came in the door, I rose to meet him, and the host quickly grabbed 2 menus and began walking through the restaurant to seat us.  But my friend, stopped, and appeared to walk out the door.  He had seen an elderly gentleman walking with a walker coming up to the door.  My friend patiently waited for him and held the door open.  It was not a convenient act, but simple nonetheless.  When the elderly couple and made it through the door, we were taken to our table.

As we were walking toward our table, I remember thinking, "Wow, I want to be like that - I want to be able to see a need and meet it - however big or small."  The thought was fleeting as we dove into conversation and began poring over our menus.

Later on in the day, I began pondering that simple act, and I realized it's not about wanting to be like that, but rather, being it.  So often we are inspired, but nothing comes of it.  The Dalai Lama was once asked how can we change the world, and his answer was, "By thinking critically and acting."  Simple enough, right? 

These past two days I've committed some of my own simple acts.  Do I think they are making a difference?  I could never know, but what I do know is everything starts at one.  Every revolution began with one small act.






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