Monday, November 15, 2010

Doing a small something

Artist: Mikhail Natarevich

I frequently have people come to talk to me who feel defeated because they can't come up with a strategy or a plan that solves everything about their predicament in an ideal way. Encouraging them to do something small can be really difficult because there is often a huge resistance to such an approach. That's probably why I like the following so much:

The doing of something productive regardless of the outcome is an act of faith. The doing of a small something when a large something is too much for us is perhaps especially an act of faith. Faith means going forward by whatever means we can.

Julia Cameron (from Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance)

3 comments:

  1. This is beautiful and so true. Sometimes we are paralyzed because we can't do the 'big' things or do them perfectly. Great wisdom.
    Andie

    ReplyDelete
  2. There aren't too many big somethings anyway. We're fooled by appearances. They're usually the cumulative result of numberless small things.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The same can be said about helping others in need. A friend recently said to me, "I can't love everyone in the whole world." I said, "Yes you can. What you can't do is touch or give direct aid to everyone in the whole world. But if you acknowledge that a Hindu or a Muslim or a Buddhist, is as worthy of dignity and respect as any member of your family; if you believe that the welfare of an Ethiopian family or a Hispanic family or an Arab family is just as important as the welfare of an American family or of your own family, then you must have the ability to love anyone and everyone in the world.

    ReplyDelete

New policy: Anonymous posts must be signed or they will be deleted. Pick a name, any name (it could be Paperclip or Doorknob), but identify yourself in some way. Thank you.