“If you bring peace to the world rather than try to find peace in the world, you will change the world.” -from Be the Light That You Are, by Debra Engle.

I love this quote. It rings true to me. If you bring peace to the world, doesn’t that mean that you are sharing and radiating peace? Henceforth, you are surrounded by peace. And if you are surrounded by peace, you are radiating a little bit of it wherever you go.

In the same book, Debra Engle also says the following variants on this quote.

“If you bring love to the world rather than try to find love in the world, you will change the world.”

and

“If you bring acceptance to the world rather than try to find acceptance in the world, you will change the world.”

If this is true, we have the ability to bring peace, love, and acceptance to those around us. What a magical power. I want to change the world! Sometimes sharing peace, love, and acceptance is easier than other times. So, what if we try to inject one of these three things into the world, just once each day? Is not the world still improved? I say that it is. I say this is an admirable goal. And not being a perfect human, there will be days when I don’t share any of these things with the world. There’s always the next day when maybe I can bring two positive experiences to those around me.

What if I conquer bringing peace, love, or acceptance to the world once each day? Then I could go on to share these things twice each day. The possibilities are endless!

And there are those times when people see us fail. The failures are only in the immediate sense. For then we try again. And eventually we get it right. Sometimes these failures can still bring good to the world. Other people see that we are not perfect. We struggle to share peace, love, and acceptance with those around us. A few will notice that although we fail at times, we try again. This may be enough to inspire others to attempt to add whatever peace, love, and acceptance that they can as well.

The affect is not always immediate. Someone may remember a kindness that you have shared farther down the path of their lives. Kindnesses are never wasted. They do not exist in a vacuum; they exist in the world. And a kindness does not need to be noticed by others to have value. The fact that it was, makes the world a better place.

I want to leave the world a better place. Won’t you consider joining me in leaving the world a better place too? One small kindness from all of us can have massive impacts. I send you peace, my friends.