On This Date

When I was a kid my favorite part of the newspaper was the small, inconspicuous section of page 4 called, "On This Date in History." It was only a column consisting of a few paragraphs, but it was infinitely interesting to me. Specific years would be listed and facts were supplied to state something (hopefully) cool that transpired on whatever the current date was in a previous year. Sometimes the years would span back over a century and it was fun to track the progress of certain inventions or advancements in technology.

Other years would sing the praises of sports events and the the birth and passing of famous people. Politicians seemed to finagle their way into certain entries and specific legislative decisions could be tracked to their infancy and then cross-examined by the current political climate.

But the epitaphs that moved me the most were the ones dedicated to certain people who accomplished great things because they saw a need and thought it might also be nice to provide a solution. And many of these individuals were not famous. They inspired me to want to (someday) have an accomplishment of my own that others would read about a century from now. How could I contribute to the betterment of this planet in such an epic manner that would be remembered for all time?... or at least while newspapers were still relevant.

Now that I'm older and less idealistic than when I was 10, I'm afraid I have consigned myself to the fact that I lack the energy to change the entire world on such a grand, Herculean scale. Realism has replaced my youthful zest and I happily admit I feel more comfortable trying to effect change in smaller ways and stages. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of infinite problems plaguing our world, I can hone in on one or two fixable issues in my own, immediate sphere of influence.

Changing the world doesn't mean we have to discover the means to world peace or invent a serum that eradicates the common cold or take Justin Bieber under our wing and mold him into a fine, outstanding citizen. It's much simpler than that.

We change our world by reaching out to others and addressing the needs in their world, which then affects THIS world. If can grasp the idea that our stories and experiences are intertwined and related to others, then we no longer can claim exclusivity to our own personal narrative. Our story becomes linked with everyone else's and when we help improve the lives of others, we are improving our own situation on numerous levels.

And who knows, perhaps a selfless act of kindness and involvement you commit today will be read about 80 years from now. What will YOUR date in history be?