You Are More Powerful Than You Know

Real change comes from within. It starts with one action that makes a difference. That difference encourages more action, and on and on.

Most of us feel very small and insignificant in this world, but if you know how very powerful one person can be (perhaps you can think of some examples), you are no different. You create your own ripples all the time in many ways.

A smile directed at a stranger, a compliment given to a friend, an attitude of laughter, or a thoughtful gesture can send ripples that spread among your loved ones and associates, out into your community, and finally throughout the world.

From “The Ripple Effect”, Madisyn Taylor, DailyOM

The truth is that one small change can have an enormous impact. Mother Teresa said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” As we know, despite her modesty, Mother Teresa created positive change that became known the world around and encouraged others to do the same.

Someone like Mother Teresa is a “changemaker”. It hasn’t been that long (20 years or so) that the term changemaker became part of our collective consciousness. Since then various groups around the world have taken up the challenge of cultivating more and more changemakers. One of those organizations is Ashoka. In an article titled, “What is a Changemaker”, written by Reem Rahman, Kris Herbst, and Tim Scheu, changemakers are:

. . . school children in Haiti creating new traffic safety systems,

American truckers preventing human trafficking, and Nobel

Peace Prize winners bringing banking to Bangladesh and fighting for child rights in India.”

You, too, are a changemaker, if only you knew! Changemakers come from all walks of life and have widely varying beliefs and attitudes. To learn more and find out how changemakers think about themselves and the world, check out the Ashoka website here:

https://www.ashoka.org/en-us/program/ashoka-changemakers

From these ideas and the visual expression of a ripple effect, we know that we need to be the change we want to see in the world. And that change begins with us. What are you sending out into the world? Be mindful, because you are, in fact, very powerful!

And now, for those who love to see the ripple effect in action, a video from Youtube. Enjoy!