To change the world

I mentioned in a recent entry how I once dreamed of changing the world, and wrote that I felt I had failed at that. Several of you nice folks told me in my comments that I am changing the world right now... with this blog, for instance.

One of my favorite movies is “It’s A Wonderful Life”, so I’m aware that every person, even the most humble and unlikely, touches many other lives in one way or another. Obviously, my children and grandchildren wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t lived. So of course I've made some differences in the world.

What really got me thinking along these lines is a recent incident where I submitted an old picture of my grandma (the one above) to eagleville.com; they ask for submissions of old pictures of people who used to live in the community, and readers try to recognize the "person from the past".

After Grandma died in the early 1960's, the funeral home was packed. Everyone in that little town seemed to know her then.

But nobody recognized the lady in that old picture. No one remembers. She is just a pebble thrown into the vast ocean of time, whose life long ago stopped making ripples.

Grandma lived a good life, and affected the lives of her neighbors, friends, and relatives, I’m sure. One of her sons fought in World War II. The others were farmers who helped feed the world. Grandma made a much bigger contribution than I ever will.

And yet, wars kept happening. Crime got ever worse. Poverty in third-world countries wasn’t affected by her life at all.

Sure, I’ve written a song or poem, here and there (maybe even a blog entry), that made somebody smile. But I’m talking about the vast scheme of things.

When I was eighteen, I remember watching the news, seeing people who were willing to go to jail for a cause: the civil rights movement. And I wished I could be a part of something that big and meaningful. Maybe just write a song, like Bob Dylan's “Blowin’ in the Wind”, that would move people to fight against injustice and prejudice.

Years later I saw a documentary on PBS about Mother Theresa, made after she won the Nobel prize. There was a woman who made a difference!

That’s what I’m talking about.

But the truth is, I just don't have the intestinal fortitude to put myself on the front lines that way. You could get shot doing that! Or catch some communicable disease!

So, I’ll go on cooking healthful meals for my husband, taking walks with him and making him smile. I’ll babysit my two granddaughters before and after school. I’ll ride my horse and throw sticks for the dog to chase.

But I wanted to change the world.