Be the Whisper That Turns Into a Roar
The flight of a butterfly is sufficient to change the destiny of the world
A woman came to me despondent. She told me she felt hopeless. She expressed that the task before us is enormous, and she didn’t know where to begin.
She lamented all the suffering in the world. She felt physical pain over the incoming wave of torment she perceived on the horizon.
“What can I do?” she asked. “What impact can I make that will have a positive effect on the world? It seems like everything I think is inconsequential or futile. I’m so overwhelmed and filled with despair that there doesn’t seem to be any point in making any effort at all.”
I looked at her and I said, “You must be the whisper that turns into a roar.”
I see so many people who want to help their fellow human beings. They want to be a force of good in their communities. They want to be a source of generosity and kindness. They want to participate in our mutual prosperity.
But they don’t know how.
Part of the problem is that they become so occupied with step 99 that they forget to take step 1. People convince themselves that an action is useless, so they don’t even bother to try. This is a defeatist mindset, and overcoming that is the first obstacle to override.
Don’t allow despair to deprive you of your agency. Motion is one of the best antidotes to misery. Take the first step. Take action. Feel the power you carry inside.
Start with a whisper into the wind. A whisper does not disappear. It is absorbed. It gains momentum. It comes back again with the force of a million billion other whispers. It becomes a world shaking power that hatred cannot withstand.
It starts with a whisper. A beautiful, silent, delicate little sound. So much depends on the things we take for granted that are scattered all around.
The problem is that people are impatient. They want to see change now. They want to see grand spectacles. They want to see the pillars of injustice come tumbling down. They won’t even pause to pick up a penny, because they’re waiting to find a check for a million dollars on the ground.
You’ll wait forever.
Instead, take heart in the little actions you can perform now.
It starts with a whisper. Once a whisper travels to the other side of the world, it becomes a roar. It moves fast, faster than the speed of thought. One neighbor turns to another. Ideas travel through the power of hope and dreams.
I gave the woman an assignment. I told her to find one person and speak her concerns. “Go up to somebody and say, let’s not inflict pain on the innocent for the mistake of the parents by taking a baby’s nationality away.”
“Tell them that,” I said. “See what they say.”
Through our whispers we can encourage our neighbors to examine their truths. Some truths might seem different when approached from another point of view.
People don’t like to be told what to think. So, don’t tell them. Instead, spend your life planting seeds. Be a massager of minds. It’s not the grand, heroic victory you were told of in tales, but it brings you back dividends with time.
Influence the people around you slowly, like a breeze. The only way to make truth hold is if the people you meet are empowered to discover it on their own. They must be shown, never lectured or told.
Stay away from conflict, use words of kindness instead. Seek and you will find areas of agreement that have been hidden in your head. We can build a better future on the stable foundation of peace rather than the shifting shores of discord.
A whisper is potent enough to still a raging sea.
Don’t succumb to despondency. Don’t allow despair and futility to rob you of your agency. There’s very little difference between a whisper and a breath. With a little more effort you create a better life, but with a little less you are condemned to death.
You’re not alone. It’s not up to you to change the world today. All you have to do is contribute in some way. The cumulative effect of all our momentum is grand.
These whispers turn into roars.
The world needs a whisperer like you.
This article is a whisper too.
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Thank you for your heart in these sociopathic times.
You did it again Walter! Changed the world with one well written article.