Making a Little Bit of Difference

My biggest concern about retiring from teaching was waking in the morning and not being able to answer the question: How will I make a difference today? For forty-seven years of being a mom and a teacher, I awoke each morning knowing that I would be touching a child's life. I had the opportunity to change that child's life even if it's only in small ways.

For eight months I awoke with the feeling of purposelessness until I realized that I can still make a difference with small gestures of kindness in my everyday interactions. Even if I'm not interacting with others, I can make a difference by choosing the energy that I put out into the world.

On my daily walks I began to pause for a moment to say "Hi" to a neighbor, smile, and wish them well. I didn't know if it made a difference, but it had the potential of changing the person's day, and it made me feel better. I found little opportunities to let people know I noticed them, from smiling and holding the door open for someone to keeping a tired child engaged in conversation while the parent frantically tries to check out at the grocery store.

It has now become routine for me to look for ways to show others that I care about them. It has made my life happier because I've slowed down so I can "see" the people around me and I feel compassion for them. I may not be able to measure the difference I'm making as I could when I was teaching, but I do know I am still making a difference!