Bridging the gap
The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation newsletter is titled "Bridging The Gap". I love that title because it suggests bridging the literal gap between synapses in the neuro-pathway that defines spinal chord injury but it also suggest bridging the gap between different groups of people and overcoming our differences. Bridging the gap can mean moving to New Orleans and cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina, or it can be a kind word to someone that's not in your circle of just-like-me's.
There are so many ways to make a difference in the world - not all of them make headline news. How can you make it better today?
All Things Possible!
Chris
There are so many ways to make a difference in the world - not all of them make headline news. How can you make it better today?
All Things Possible!
Chris
posted by Christopher Showerman @ 9/09/2005 05:24:00 AM
6 Comments:
At 5:55 AM, September 09, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
Chris, excellent ponderance! I ask myself two questions every day: How can I make it better is my morning question. Did I do all I could to make today a good day is my "before I go to bed" question.
How can I make my world better today? I can be good. I can be gentle. I can consider everything with kindness. I can appreciate the beauty in all things from mountains to buildings to flowers to people. I can be watchful of my actions and the actions of others; and provide constructive opinions to those who want it. I can think carefully about what I am about to do or say. I can do the right thing right the first time (because I will not have the opportunity or time to do it again!). I can love, and verbalize it. I can find opportunities for improvement. I can consider that all things are possible and work toward that end.
Thank you, Chris, for sharing with us some fuel for thought. As a society and a planet, I hope we move in this direction more so that issues can be discussed and resolved instead of fought over.
Stay your beautiful self.
Patrick in Pittsburgh
At 6:37 PM, September 11, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
Thanks for the food for thought Chris - with so much going wrong in the world it really isn't enough just to "stay out of the way" and keep from making the world a worse place. If we all just took a moment now and then to think "how can I make it better?" I believe we would all be surprised to find out how quickly a difference can be made!
At 5:57 PM, September 12, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
Making a difference starts in your own backyard.Its the simple things that make the difference. Clean out that closet you have been putting off for weeks and Donate those old clothes you dont want anymore to charity.
Go out and ask your neighbor how they are doing. Maybe by listening and being there you can make a difference for them. Offer assistance to those who could use a helping hand. Help out that stranger pick up there groceries that they dropped on the street, instead of just passing them by and telling ourselves, someone else will help - im in a hurry.
We can all make a difference, big or small we all have the power to do so. Something is better than nothing - and most of the time we never really know how much of a difference we have actually made,just by being thoughtful.
At 8:06 PM, September 12, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
I've enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on making a difference in people's lives. And I appreciated the Linds writing about the need for a cure for leukemia and other cancers. I lost a best friend, Loretta, a year ago this June to leukemia. and am working on the campaign a little bit from my location. I'm glad so many people are thinking about the difference their words or actions can make...being a bridge for someone else.
I just found this quote on an old calendar. It's attributed to Martin Luther: "Faith, like light, should always be simple and unbending; while love, like warmth, should beam forth on every side, and bend to every necessity of our brethren."
Here's to beautiful bridges, MBP
At 4:51 PM, September 13, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
It is interesting your point this week. I am from Louisiana, where I was reared, and spent all the summers of my youth in New Orleans. I have relatives who made an early retreat from the city and all of their belongings have been damaged--although they were heavily insured. They say that the president and others do not want photographers or spectators to see the ruin or, of course, the bodies. Interestingly enough, one of my cousins--on my mother's side--who is far too alcoholic and disinterested in his own life (he doesn't need to work for a living), fled to the french quarter from his home in the garden district to his favorite bar. He was evidently joined there by many of his friends and many wealthy people who deserted their homes to come to the highest ground in the city which is the quarter. The police, by order of the mayor and the commissioner ordered the city police to desert their posts and form a circle around the quarter, heavily armed, to keep out the poor and the unwelcome and protect the wealthy. And so they all sat there through the night, high and dry, waiting for the end of Katrina's wrath. Which leads me to your question: "How can you make it better today?" I suppose the only reasonable answer, although I am not likely to take part myself, is to take the words of Vladimir Lenin far more seriously.
At 3:06 AM, September 15, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
This one goes out to all those peeps out there who dare to make a difference..including you, Chris.
(Kane, 'Believe')
Tell me would you wanna go out there
Tell me would you wanna go out there
See the world in all it's truth
There's a lot that you can do
without giving in
One of these days
Tell me do you wanna believe it
Tell me would you wanna receive
its fate and fortune in your hand
It's there to understand
Not to give in
Tell me do you wanna believe it
Tell me would you wanna receive this life
that's only meant for you
There's so much that you can choose
without giving in
And one of these days
It's gonna come right back to you
One of these days
Tell me do you wanna go out there?
Tell me would you wanna go out there love
You wanna trust you heart today?
Or you wanna keep it far away?
Cause sometimes it's gonna run deep
Sometimes it's gonna explode
Feels right just to fantasize
Feels right not to compromise
I got the heart and soul
I got my right from wrong
Yes I believe it
Got to believe it
Got my heart and soul
And the will to go on
Yes I will believe it
And it feels good..
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