Simple Acts
Welcome to Simple Acts: Because even the smallest act of kindness can light the darkest night.
What kind of world do you want to live in?
When I was 21 years old, I took a trip that would change my life. I was in my fourth year at Boston College, an English major with an eye on graduate school at the University of Chicago to pursue a masters degree in Art History. A friend told me about a trip a group of students were taking to the mountains of Appalachia to do volunteer work with people who were struggling.
We piled into a rented van and made the 15 hour drive to Clarksville, Georgia. That week we split wood, patched walls and covered windows with plastic to help insulate homes from the bitter cold. We met many folk who lived in the mountains, people who were struggling just to get by. They opened their homes to us. Shared their stories and the hearts and at the end of the week, as we made the long drive back to Boston, I knew something had changed.
It’s a longer story, but I never did pursue that degree in Art History. That trip to Appalachia launched a lifetime commitment to service, to making a difference where I could and inspiring others to do the same.
Fast forward 40 years. I was standing in a church in Carrion de los Condes, a small Spanish town along the famous Camino de Santiago. At the end of mass a middle aged nun with tufts of grey hair poking out from her coif handed me a paper star. “You are the light,” she said. “Always remember that you have the power to light the darkness for someone —and when we join together, we can light even the darkest night.”
This is a newsletter for people who want to make a difference.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for! All around us, there are people who are making a difference. Without attention, celebrity or fanfare, people shine their light into some of the darkest places on this planet we call home. People who have answered the call with the desire to make the world just a little brighter. To aleviate suffering. Feed the hungry or sit with someone who is sick. People who offer shelter to the unhoused or create a world that is a little less lonely. People who bring hope.
We can all be the change.
We all know the quote attributed to Mahatma Ghandi, Be the change you want to see in the world. But how, you might be asking yourself? The world is a big, unwieldy complicated place and there are lots of problems. I’m not rich. I don’t have any particular skills when it comes to world changing. How can I make a difference?
As it turns out, plenty.
Simple Acts are the stories of people who choose to act. Who took that first, small step. They made a phone call. Sat with someone who was suffering. Brought their viola to a hospital bedside. Showed up at a meeting and raised their hand. “I can do that,” they said.
Be Inspired. Find your spark.
Join us to learn about people just like you who are making a difference in their communities. People who are using their passions, talents, experience and sheer grit to make their communities (and our world) a better place.
Subscribe. Share. Help Spread the light.
