a choice

One word

One act of kindness

One smile

One choice…..

Can really make a difference. The life of a single person can touch thousands of lives simply because of one decision. We face such decisions every day. With everything we do we change someone else’s day, or week, or life. What can you do right now to make someone smile? How can you brighten someone’s day right now? Saying “hi” to someone might have a bigger impact than you could imagine. Asking a friend how they are doing, or what’s going on, is appreciated. Sometimes we don’t do these things because we are afraid of being judged, or looking weird, or seeming creepy. But it’s not creepy, it’s kindness. And it is powerful. Just telling someone that you are there for them shows that you care. We need to do that more often. So I have a challenge for you: try to brighten three people’s day. This could be as simple as saying hi, or as complicated as writing a letter, or just giving smile, maybe even sharing this blog could brighten my someone's day. I want you to make a difference today for three people. Use your choices to change someone's day.

One of the first times that I realized the power a choice can have was one time when I was watching my brother speak. And he told this story that captivated me and stuck with me.

There once was an old man who would walk along the beach every morning. One morning it was right after a storm had come, this storm had washed thousands of starfish up on the sand. While he was walking he came across a boy going in the opposite direction. As the boy walked he would bend down and pick up a starfish and place it back in the sea. Puzzled, the old man asked what he was doing, the boy replied that the starfish would die if not returned to the water, so he was giving them a chance to live. The old man laughed and said, “there are thousands of starfish, you won’t make any difference.”

The boy could have admitted defeat and walked away.

He could have agreed with the old man, laughed at his own foolishness, and forgotten the whole thing.

He had a choice

The boy bent down and picked up a stranded starfish in his hands and said, “I can make a difference for this one.”

And placed it in the ocean.

We have the same choice, we can make a difference for someone. Even when people point to how many depressing things there are in life, to how many people are suffering, we can spread the joy and hope, and make a difference. We can easily be like the old man, simply taking a stroll through life. Or we can look at people, see their pain, and say, "I can make a difference." That's the choice we have. A simple act of kindness or a single word, can mean the world to someone.

Rachel Scott, one of the first victims of the Columbine shooting in 1999, believed in showing compassion. She wrote a report for school titled My Ethics, My codes of Life. In it she says "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go."

You can start a chain reaction. You can inspire people. You can change lives. It all starts with a choice. So make life better for three people today. Your mission, if you choose to except it, is to brighten three people's day.

It all comes down to the choice you make, I hope you choose to make a difference.