I was talking with a friend some time ago about a young woman named Maggie Doyne. She is an American philanthropist who left home to explore the world after graduating high school. Her success story began with the determination to help one child and has since evolved into a school for 50 children – and an entire support operation – aiding children in Nepal. Hers is an amazing story, and her organization, Blinknow.org is a tribute to what can be achieved, given a dream fueled by desire.
Maggie Doyne’s amazing story affected me in a different way, however. I felt…well…I guess I felt insignificant. My life story is not one of major accomplishments. No change the world, make it a better place story. Rather, a few personal accomplishments, and some personal pitfalls, but nothing earth-shattering. Just living life I suppose.
I’ve never set the perfect example for humanity. Never will, truth be told. I’ve hurt people. Out of stupidity, ignorance, and even out of – what I believed true at the time – necessity. I have regrets, but recognize the past is not malleable, except in our own minds when we change the story to meet our ego’s needs. When I indulge in honest, soul-searching and self-reflection, I know my wrongs. I see them for what they are, and although I may dislike them intensely, they are a part of me. A part I cannot change.
The opposite may also be true. There may be an It’s a Wonderful Life side to all our stories. We don’t know who we’ve helped along the way. We don’t know whose lives we’ve touched because of our very existence. I don’t know that I’ve changed any lives for the better, but, like George Bailey, if we were given an opportunity to see how very different the lives of those around us might be without us, we might tread more gently on ourselves. I’d like to think there are some of those moments in my life. Moments of good to offset the moments of bad.
As I put more years behind me, I strive to be a better person. I’ll never be a Maggie Doyne, and I know this. I don’t have the passion, the desire, or, frankly, the energy. But I am energized by stories like hers. Energized to simply do better. To be nicer. To be more compassionate and empathetic towards others. To say please and thank you. To hold the door for another. To tip generously. To give what I can, where I can, when I can. To stand up for others. To make someone smile. A work in progress for sure. And will be until the day I die.
Every day we have an opportunity to do just a little bit better. Or, to borrow from another great story – we have an opportunity to not add links to our chains. In the Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol, Jacob Marley’s ghost was asked about the chain which drags behind him. “I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”
We have opportunities, every moment of our lives, to refrain from adding links to the chain we’ve forged in our lives. We might even, perhaps, begin to fully forgive ourselves for those which already exist, and lighten our load. Recognizing this capability is half the battle. It is, after all, a wonderful life.
Namaste 🙏
~jwb~