Making a Difference

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​What we think,
What we say,
What we do,
Our motivation, our intention,
The soft bed of air upon which each arises,
And sets them into motion,
Matters.

So offer each,
Your thoughts, words and actions
With a little love.
A little understanding and compassion.
A little kindness
Toward yourself and to others.
With a little wish that each serves as the cause, eventually,
For peace, and for happiness
For self and other equally.

It doesn’t have to be a lot.
It doesn’t have to be more than we feel capable of in that moment.
A lot of times we may not feel capable of any at all.
Life can be so agonizing.
Just, somewhere, at some time, the wish.

No matter our situation
No matter how different we think things should be
Or wish things were
Or we were
Or think others should be
These are fictions.
All those shoulds.

If we could be different,
If others could be different,
We would be, and so would they.
So learn to be accepting, and forgiving.
To be where you are.
Things will change.
This is the beginning of awareness.

Being where we are does not mean that we do not wish to change.
Or that we don’t want things to be different, or others to be different.
It just means that in the course of that slow transformation
The most effective way to truly effect change
Is to also be fully present to the moment
At least to the extent that we can be.

Acting, while not acting,
In motion, while still.
To understand what is truly needed,
To effect that change,
In a meaningful and lasting way,
In which all benefit.

Like the tree
Like the snow
Like the sky
And the air,
Like the ground.
Interdependent, yet on another level,
Indistinguishable.

So each thought ... matters.
Each word ... matters.
Every action ... matters.
So very much.
You matter,
So very much.
You are so loved and remarkable.
​
So be present to those around you.
And present to yourself.
Your remarkable self
And, slowly slowly, moment by day by year,
Watch yourself
And those around you,
And the world itself,
Become just a little better off,
For your mere, remarkable presence in it.