1 Tiny Act

Recently, in a far away city I spent a few lonely nights in a hotel room having a sort-of midlife crisis.

I could blame it on the fact that it was just me and the cable television (enough to make anyone question life as we know it). But here is the real reason: I’m about to have another birthday and I still don’t know what I’m doing here. I go through the motions of my life but I’m not sure I’m making a difference to anyone. Do you ever feel like this? Do you ever just want to shake the “me” and tap a bigger, better “us?”

I want to make an impact, but I’m not exactly sure how to go about it. I’m not rich, so I can’t donate lots of money to charity. Starting an orphanage in some remote corner of the world doesn’t really seem practical for me. Honestly, I even feel time-starved most weeks.

Then I remembered a story I’d once heard about a famous American pop star who called Mother Teresa and said she wanted to come work with her in India. Mother Teresa (always the voice of reason) said this: start in your own backyard.

That’s when my idea began to grow and it went something like this: I’ll start with one tiny act of kindness, then (inspired by a friend who did this) I’ll do one tiny act for every year I’ve been alive—sort of like paying God back for all of my blessings. Hmmm. Not bad … but will my 32 (give-or-take : -) acts make an impact? Then the best thought of all occurred to me: what if I could get some help? What if WE could start a movement??! The holiday season is the PERFECT time!

So here’s the plan—which is 99 percent hope and prayer that someone … anyone … will join me:

• Over the next 30 days or so, conduct 1 Tiny Act of kindness (or more)! One per day??

• Post it on MY Facebook page with this hashtag: #1TinyAct (or email me: MarySzymko (at) Yahoo(dot)com)

You get bonus points if you …

• Post it on YOUR Facebook page, your Twitter or Pinterest account with this hashtag: #1TinyAct

• SHARE a link to this blog post (to inspire others)!

That’s it. I’ll keep track of our efforts, sharing your ideas and our progress here in this blog.

And, by all means, please share some of your ideas for these Tiny Acts. Maybe you’ll turn a stranger’s day around simply by buying them a coffee. Compliment a co-worker. Read to a little one for 20 minutes. Donate newspapers or cat food to a local animal shelter. Visit a shut-in or call an elderly neighbor. Take your child’s scout group (and some cookies) to a local nursing home.

Mother Teresa had it right when she said, “We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.”

Help me spread the love?