I had to start out with a strong title since this post is taking on such a challenging meme; one asking about my future impact on the world.
No pressure.
Maddie Grant asked, “How are you going to change the world in 2012?“ and association bloggers have been answering.
Peggy Hoffman and Elizabeth Weaver Engel tagged me in their inspirational posts and so now I am trying to answer this serious question and I just don't know what to say... It is hard to stick one's neck out and say anything one does will have an impact on the world.
My plan is to attack it from another angle - the angle of imagined retrospection - so I can get my head around the challenge to change the world.
How KiKi I changed the world in 2012:
- KiKi I continued to support the USA for UNHCR Blue Key initiative to help refugees around the world, taking a stronger role in the effort.
- As a member of the Joplin Expats in DC, KiKi I helped aid victims of her my hometown's disastrous EF-5 tornado that took place in May 2011.
- Perhaps most importantly, KiKi I introduced her my husband and daughter to the role of volunteer as she I found ways to get them involved in service projects in their community.
The first two are a given, but the third is a new goal for 2012.
I believe that each of us has the greatest impact on the world in the way that we conduct ourselves on a day-to-day basis; that we should act as we hope others might act. For me this means acknowledging our gifts, recognizing talents in others, remembering to try to always do well by other people. My mother had an old emroidered sign next to the back door of my childhood home with a Goethe quote that read,
“Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean.”
While I do hope to create positive change in the world in a few specific ways with groups and teaching others to get involved, I also expect that in the long run the greatest change will be because of a continued effort to do the best I can at being a positive strong person with a mind toward service so that I might motivate others to do the same.
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