Today we met a woman who grew up with strong American values of working hard and caring for her family and friends. A few months ago her troubled teenage granddaughter crushed her hand and sent her on a downward spiral. She had surgery, suffered from other illnesses, lost work, lost her place of living, lost her furniture in storage when she was unable to pay the bill. Now she sits in an almost empty apartment without enough food to eat and deeply depressed. Within a short period her whole life was turned upside down. She went from being the person that family and friends went to in times of need to being the needy one. Sadly this story of sudden loss is too common in our society. In nature there are sudden shifts but real change takes time. In the life of humans a small change, injury to a hand, can quickly turn around a person’s life.

This change from good to bad works backwards in human beings. A smile or compassionate listening can give someone great hope and results in major changes for the good in someone’s life. We all have heard many stories of how a small good deed gets passed on and results in some major good for many people. In nature, again, there can be sudden shifts but real change takes time.

Worms, like nature work slowly but can make a major change. Worms in rich black soil, “black gold”, can transform a box full of compost in two months. The change is slow, with each worm eating its weight in soil each day and casting it off. But many small changes multiplied by a number of worms can result in major change in time.

Some people in society are frustrated, often feeling they cannot make significant changes. However, if one small act like a smile can make a significant change just think how many small human acts together can make major changes. If worms can transform a box of compost into something of value, just think how a group of humans acting on their values and for the common good could change the world.

Dorothy Day, the co-founder of the Catholic World, had a simple solution to the problem of homelessness. She suggested that if every family could take in one homeless person the problems of homelessness would be eliminated. In the first quote in the new Quotes & Jokes page on this site is one from Gandhi “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Change is as simple or complicated as living this saying.

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