Monday, January 16, 2017

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

I woke up this morning bored and antsy. It is grey and raining outside. I have lots of projects that I could be working on, but I wanted something more from this day. I wanted to do something that had substance and used energy.
I was gloomily looking at Facebook and letting life's moments fly past and getting more bored by the moment. Sorry to my FB friends, but . . . 
It was Facebook that woke me out of my stupor when I read a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. There were several posts today.

"Oh yes," I thought, "It's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day." Searching his quotes for inspiration, the one below felt the most inspirational for me for today.  

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?
The time is always right to do what is right." -- Martin Luther King Jr.



I shared the quote with my FB friends along with this extra note: Let's give something positive of ourselves to help others today. When you do, take a photo or write a few words about what you did so that we can see/experience how each of our small actions, when added up with everyone else's actions, have great impact.

I had leftover flour and brown sugar from making Christmas cookies so I decided that I would make cookies to take to the local homeless shelter. After a run to Aldi for the rest of the needed ingredients, I picked up Jane and we baked about 8 dozen cookies; chocolate chip and oatmeal.

We delivered them to the local homeless shelter, the police department, and the fire department. There are no photos. That was not the point. We received thanks and smiles plus one hug. 
John went through our coats and I was able to deliver 3 nice jackets to the homeless shelter.

There is so much wrong in the world today. Alone we cannot fix it all. Together, we may not be able to fix it all, but we can make a positive impact in small ways. 
Like the man who walked a beach covered in starfish. He bent and picked up a starfish, threw it back into the water. He moved forward and threw back another and another. A second man walked up beside him and said, "You can't possibly save all those starfish." As the first man bent to throw another starfish back into the water, he said, "But I can save this one."
You may not have time to bake 8 dozen cookies, but there are lots of little things you can do for other people. It could be as simple as putting the quarter in the slot of the shopping cart at Aldi so when the next person arrives, he/she doesn't have to dig for one.

Spread a little love today and everyday. Feel free to share what you did in the comments.