There is some sort of saying about a mouse…the fact that it seems so small and helpless, but in all actuality it is really very cunning and strong.
Open up Facebook, what do you see? Open Instagram, what do you see? Go on the internet, what is trending? Turn on the TV, what is happening? In one word: brokenness. Murders, massacres, threats, hatred, pain -- it’s everywhere and we cannot escape it.
Ever since I was old enough to dream, I knew I wanted to do something big, something that could really help the world and all its people. Something that could live on after I was gone. Something that could live forever. I still have those dreams and hope that they come true. However, as I have matured, I have realized something extremely important.
My mom and I were driving along one night and we passed a cemetery. I said to her that I did not want to end up in the ground having lived an empty life. I wanted to leave some sort of legacy. She said to me, “A man who has lived a godly life, loved his wife and children, and used his talents for good, touches more lives than he is given credit for. An ordinary life is an extraordinary life. Do not think that if all your dreams do not come true, that your life will not have been extraordinary.”
Now, of course my mom is fantastic and encourages me to continue to chase my dreams, but I have realized more than ever that she is absolutely correct…of course. What she said to me was timed perfectly. I have noticed that the little things in life are really what make it so sincere, tangible and downright special: a night full of laughter with your family, a day full of enjoying nature, a child holding your hand and looking at you like you are irreplaceable – these are the things that truly matter. Without these moments, life would not work. It is in the stillness of these moments that our hearts stop and think. That our minds and hearts combine thoughts with feelings and makes sense of all our emotions. The person who is so busy that they only stop when they are forced to, find themselves thinking in moments such as these and realize -- the still moments they were afraid of are the exact moments they needed.
We are like that mouse. We seem so small and lost in this big world. Sometimes we even feel trivial and insignificant. We have given ourselves the idea that we cannot do anything to help this world. It is just too late, we are falling too hard, too fast. Again, just like the mouse, we remember we are strong and wise. We dream, and we try with all our might to achieve those dreams. Can we help? We can! You can! Not by finding the secret to world peace, not by finding the perfect compromise to a healthy government and not by finding a cure for cancer. Those are the ‘big worldly dreams’. They will happen, not because of one person though. They will happen as a chain reaction to each individual’s struggle to attain their dreams, their hopes for the world and their fellow man.
As we each follow our "big worldly callings," let us not forget that kindness begins at home. We never really know what is going on in someone’s heart of hearts. If we smile at someone who seems down, if we listen to someone who needs to talk or if we sit with someone who just needs to know someone is there for them -- that is what is going to change the world. It probably seems so insignificant, especially at the time, but each action has a chain reaction.
Just imagine if we all chased our callings, and while doing so, lived our lives in a way that is understanding, sympathetic and kind towards a stranger. Not you alone, not me alone, but together! Together we could help this world and make it whole again: from our simple life moments to our big life callings.
