Little Changes Make Big Differences

The world we share:

I want to be greener because I love the environment. Well, most of the time anyway. I don’t love it when pollen blankets my town, which sadly is more often than not. I’m one of the unlucky ones. Every season is allergy season.

Still, I can’t help but marvel at what is outside my windows. The world around me is beautiful and I believe in taking care of it, not just for me or my children. I want to save it for their children’s children, so I’m making little changes.

I recycle all my plastic, glass, and cans. I never, ever litter. I’ve switched from aerosol sprays to pumps and my bad hair days prove it. I try to buy organic when it’s locally produced and understand that buying organic from afar is bad. After all, the truck that hauls the organic bananas is leaving quite a smoggy footprint.

I wash in cold water—most of the time. I don’t use the dishwasher until it’s fully loaded and I faithfully turn off or unplug anything not in use. I do all of this to help my grandchildren’s inheritance, their grandchildren’s inheritance. I don’t know what kind of world they will end up with. I can only hope it’s at least as beautiful as the one I wake up to now.

Recently, I was told a newer version of an old story about making small changes. It’s about doing little things to make big differences. The latest version was about a little girl walking along a beach just as hundreds of newly hatched baby turtles struggled to reach the sea. As they made their way, crabs darted from sandy holes, dragging the turtles beneath the surface. Those who made it to the water’s edge were often pushed back by the incoming waves. The girl watched in sadness as the turtles faced one obstacle after another, knowing that even in the water they faced danger. She couldn’t protect them there, but she could do something.

Two by two, she gently picked up the turtles and tossed them as far as she could into the ocean … two by two … two by two. An old woman sat watching. Shaking her head she said, “You know, it doesn’t matter what you do here. You won’t make much difference. Most of these turtles are gonna die anyway.”

The little girl threw two more turtles into the sea and said, “I just made a difference to those two.”

When things seem overwhelming, try to remember that little changes can make big differences. You can’t stop global warming on your own, nor can you clean the earth’s water. What you can do is join the millions of others doing little things to make big changes.