Just over a week ago, when I was mired down in the news, feeling a familiar heaviness building up in my chest as I took in the horrific events happening around the world, I heard from the leader of my local art gallery, Pat Rini Rohrer.
The artists at the gallery were joining the worldwide initiative to paint sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine.
I shut off the TV, stopped the scroll on my phone, and found my feet carrying me to my studio of their own volition.
Hours later, I had my painting, Raining in Kiev, ready for the show at the gallery, where all proceeds would benefit Ukraine.
While I was painting, I thought of the millions of families — not just in Ukraine, but all throughout the world — fleeing death and destruction as refugees.
I thought of the journalists and photographers risking their lives to share their stories with the rest of us.
I thought of the humanitarian workers, struggling to get aid where it’s needed.
With each brushstroke, I asked myself, “What can I do?”
And, the real question: “Does it matter?”
Then I reminded myself, we can all cast individual ripples.
Small as they may be, the effect they have can extend far beyond us.
The way I see it, those of us with the privilege of having a roof over our heads, a refrigerator full of food, and a car to put gas into have two choices:
We can watch the news, let the fear, anger, and sadness overwhelm us, and become paralyzed.
Or we can take one tiny step; make one tiny change.
For me at that moment, my tiny step was pouring my heart into a sunflower painting.
For the collector who called me just hours after it was posted, it was purchasing the painting so the proceeds would be passed on.
For you, it could be making a phone call to a friend who needs a familiar voice or listening ear.
It could be buying a gas card for your local child advocacy center who transports kiddos to crucial mental health appointments.
It could be taking the grocery cart to return for someone who doesn’t have time to run it back.
These things might seem inconsequential, but I’d argue the opposite.
Each and every time we show even the “smallest” act of generosity in this world, we spread kindness.
And kindness compounds.
What’s one small kindness you can give the world today?
—
P.S. In case you need this reminder, too: Sometimes, your kindness will be curling up on the couch with a good book to recharge your own spirit. As the saying goes, put on your own oxygen mask, first. When you take care of yourself, you’ll be much better equipped to show up for others when the time comes.