Every single moment
Bob Hatcher
February 21, 2011Â Â Â Â
Every single moment we can be working toward a better world, a safer and healthier lifestyle, a closer relationship with one’s higher power or a better understanding of oneself.
There are times when things appear to be so discouraging that one’s thoughts might be more of survival and very far from making the world a better place. Anne Frank’s quote that follows is simply remarkable, as she, a young Jewish teenager, was locked away in the attic of an Amsterdam home, hoping to evade capture and being sent to a concentration camp, when she entered these words into her diary:
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
–Anne Frank,Â
German-Dutch Diarist,
and eventually a Holocaust Victim Â
Of course every single one of us has different ideas on what improvements are the best for the world about us, but Anne Frank’s words are an inspiration for all who consider their own situation too complex to even think of how to make things better for others.
It is healthy to consider how we might be able to help others. When we concentrate on helping others we are less likely to become obsessed with our own problems. I believe that when feeling a little down if we concentrate on others or our community and volunteer to help an individual or organization it boosts our own spirits in the process. Â It can lead to learning a new hobby or nurturing an interest that we can delve into on our own or with others. Â
Writing a column like this every week as I have been doing for a few years now is a privilege and a gift. When I received the above thought for a day from my sister-in-law, Margaret Hutchison, I immediately knew that it was the start of a column.
Twice now I have visited the place in Amsterdam where Anne Frank wrote those words and twice have I read her diary. Her courage and wisdom inspire me each and every time I think of her. So in writing this column she inspired me once again.
Thank you Margaret Hutchison for the above suggestions. Thank you Anne Frank for your courage and wisdom. And thank you Steve Meadows for the opportunity to write these columns.
