Never ending divisions... is there still hope?

"The world has been created for everyone's use, but you few rich are trying to keep it for yourselves.  For not merely the possession of the earth, but the very sky, the air, and the sea are claimed for the use of the rich few... The earth belongs to all, not just to the rich."   

This is a very interesting quote that I came across this weekend while I was at home.  When do you think it was written?  It most definitely sounds like something we would hear said today in a time when many people have decided to work towards "ending global poverty", in a time when many are becoming more involved in social activism.  It makes sense that this would be said now in a time were the division between the rich and the poor simply continues to grow and has become a vast divide.  Venture a guess, when do you think the above quote was written? 

Ambrose of Milan wrote these powerful words in De Nabuthe 3 (Early History of Greed) which was written between 340-97.  When I first read the quote I immediately thought it was a recent quote.  When I found out when it was actually written I felt very shaken inside.  This was written so long ago, yet it seems to be the same situation today.  Has anything really changed? Or has the problem gotten worse? There is no denying the fact in the past 50 years the gap has grown.  How do we maintain hope in a seemingly hopeless situation where no apparent change has happened in over 1500 years? 

I think that Mother Theresa said it best when she said "You cannot do large things, only small things with love."  Despite the fact that things do not appear to have changed on a large scale does not mean we should not still try to change the world for the better.  However perhaps our methods of changing the world are to grandiose, to ambitious.  Have we lost the humanity in development work? Have we become to caught up in the statistics, to caught up in the large numbers to remember that helping one person does indeed change the world for the better.  By helping one person you have indeed made a difference, you made the world of difference to the person you helped.  

It is like the starfish story by Loren Eisley (one of my favorite stories to this day).  

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.  Approaching the boy, her asked, "What are you doing?" The youth replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean.  The surf is up and tide is going out.  If I don't throw them back, they'll die."  "Son," the man said, "don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can't make a difference!" After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw is back into the surf.  Then, smiling at the man, he said... "I made a difference for that one."  

It is extremely disappointing to realize that a problem we have been trying to work towards correcting for such a long time has not been fixed, but it is important to realize that a difference made in an individual life is extremely important too.  A difference made in one persons life can begin a chain of events of people helping people.  It is like in the movie Pay it Forward.  By helping individuals through acts of love and kindness a young boy was able to begin a chain reaction of people helping other people.  This is the kind of thing that makes a difference, it impacts individuals, creates community and fosters a sense of humanization and belonging.  When we help others through random act of kindness and with love in out hearts then it is a selfless act that can lead the betterment of the world.  We run into problems when we start to help people with strings attached, with conditions.  Helping people with strings attached is just another form of control.  It is one more thing strengthening the gap. 

We need to learn that we cannot do large things, only small things with love! Love is the one things that has the power to reverse to disastrous direction our world is heading in.  Love for one another and the world around us is the most powerful unifying force that recognizes humanity and looks for similarities to link us together rather then differences to separate us.  

Don't do nothing because you can't do everything.  Do something.  Anything.  

- Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

You may think that your actions are meaningless and that they won't help, but that is no excuse, you must still act. 

- Gandhi