Doing the little things we can do

One consistent thread you'll find woven through this blog is a spotlight on people who inspire me.

Last week I went to hear Wangari Maathai speak here in Seattle. Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement in her native Kenya, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and author of the books, Unbowed: A Memoir and The Green Belt Movement, is definitely one of those inspirational figures.

One thing that stuck in my head was a reminder of something really obvious that we sometimes lose track of. She said...

"It's very, very important to learn to do the little things we can do. We can get sometimes overwhelmed by the big picture...you can almost get overwhelmed and feel like there is nothing we can do. But there is something we can do. We can all do something. And planting trees is one of the most doable activities that can be done by children, by adults everywhere."

Maathai was talking about global warming and planting trees, but the message applies to just about anything we think is important. It's easy to get so lost in the big picture - and the big picture frequently seem next to impossible - that we forget to focus on whatever it is we can do right here, right now.

Take a look at your life. Take a look at your dreams. Take a look at what's important to you. What are the trees you can plant - figuratively speaking - on the way there?

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM