I’m a firm believer that at the core of every person is a desire to help others, to love.
It may not seem so if you listen to the evening news on any given day. It’s easy to think that the arc of the world is leaning towards destruction. Yes, our world is filled with complex issues like poverty, murder, violence, homelessness, political corruption, discrimination, the destruction of our environment, the need for access to clean water, and cruelty against animals. The list of injustices goes on and on.
It’s easy to be believe the world is doomed.
That there’s nothing we can do about it.
It’s easy for any of us to think that our choice to do the right thing, to choose love, won’t make a difference. It’s the old, I can’t change the world, so why do anything scenario—and it’s not necessarily a conscious choice.
The future of our world isn’t as bleak as one might think.
There is hope.
I argue that the arc of the world is leaning towards hope. People all over the world are making a difference. People are choosing love. There are amazing acts of love happening all around us. Some on a larger scale by people of influence and fame such as Bill and Melinda Gates, Bono, and Malala, but more importantly, also by regular people like you and me. Yes, we need people with power and influence to play their role, but it’s the exponential series of acts of choosing love from regular people who will ultimately make the biggest difference.
We can choose to say what I do won’t matter, so why bother. Or, we can choose to say what I do does matter.
Every choice to love matters here and now, to someone, to some cause, to some injustice taking place. Don’t worry about figuring out exactly how it matters. Do it because it’s the right thing to do. We may not see or understand how our choices will make a difference. We may not necessarily understand how collectively it makes a difference. But it does.
Make no mistake. Hope is winning.
If we choose love in as many situations as we can it will matter.
Let’s train ourselves to always choose love. Start small. Choose to open a door for someone. Choose to say good morning. Choose to smile. Choose to say, “Well done.” These will help us make bigger choices like, mowing the grass for a neighbour, making a meal for someone who’s sick, forgiving someone who hurt us, signing and forwarding a petition to help others, donating to a cause that helps make the world a better place. These will help us move on to the next steps, whatever they might be, like volunteering in your community, getting involved in a fundraiser, canvassing for a cause, becoming involved in someone’s life that could use your help.
There are dozens of opportunities around each of us. The key is to pay attention. To be aware. To be ready. It might be scary to think of where this could lead you. Don’t worry. Just start with baby steps. Don’t worry about the end game.
Focus on the “Choose Love” option before you today.
Our lives are filled with choices. If we try to keep “Choose Love” at the core of those choices we become part of making the world a better place. If we remember that our “Choose Love” matters, the world gets that much closer to being what we all hope it to be.
I encourage you to acknowledge to yourself every day that what you choose to do matters.
Be part of a world movement towards hope, towards choosing love. Tweet about it #ChooseLove, post on Instagram or Facebook whenever you see a good example of #ChooseLove. It doesn’t have to be something huge. Every act of choosing love matters.
Picture above: I believe in this concept so much that I have it tattooed on my forearm.
