Changing The World?

‘I can change the world…’ ~ Eric Clapton

Do you think that little gestures like making donations, acts of charity, teaching children, cleaning a house, building clinics and schools (in an underdeveloped nation) can change the world?

I was watching a Channel News Asia programme called ‘Asians of the Year’ and chanced upon a segment with a social worker. She said that their efforts probably amounted to drops in an ocean. She said that they may not change the world, but they could change a person’s world.

I was touched by her words: Change a person’s world. That has profound implications on somebody’s life. Humans are sensitive to changes in their environment, and if these changes have positive intentions and outcomes, it can affect them significantly.

Mahatma Gandhi suggested his approach for changing the world: ‘One person at a time!’ So, what we do can cause shifts incrementally. Running is merely putting one step forward at a time, sometimes, with a wider stride or more frequency. Yesterday, my friend Reeves bought three packets of tissue paper from an elderly lady who approached our table. He gave her $2 (instead of $1), returned her a packet, and gave one to me: small gestures with considerable impact.

He may have changed the world for all three of us: Ripples in a large pond.

What do you think?