Can you change the world?

Wisdom says that causing change in the world begins with a single act by one person. And then another. And another.

As a verbal and visual artist, my goal is to provide some joy to others through my work – whether it’s a story, a blog post, or a photographic image. I hope that by doing so, a little pleasure is spread from one person to another.

If something I’ve written or a photo I’ve taken makes you smile, then I have achieved my goal and taken another step toward changing the world.

We had a true ‘nor’easter storm yesterday that ended with a lot of drifting, hard-packed snow. We live on a corner lot and the plow comes up the hill, turns right into our road and, since ours is the first driveway, dumps huge chunks of ice/snow in the opening as it passes by. It took my other half almost four hours of painstaking work today to clear a pathway to the road, open up the driveway and unearth (un-snow?) our vehicles. One step toward changing the world? Our neighbours were all out doing the same thing and at least exchanging an occasional greeting or wave. These days people don’t talk or know their neighbours much. When I was a child we knew everyone on our street. Things change.

Speaking of change: our communication methods have truly changed. We used to telephone friends to catch up on the news or make arrangements to do something. Now? We text or message each other via Facebook. Today I phone a friend who lives in another province. We had a lovely 40-minute chat and both commented on how unusual it was to hear a voice and actually talk. I may do more of that. Perhaps by reaching out, that too will change the world.