One Drop of Justice

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”- Dalai Lama XIV

There’s an oft-shared story about the power of small actions. It states how a small drop can shatter the perfect, smooth sheen in a pond and create ripples across the surface.

 

Another allegory reminds us how one degree of temperature can shift water from its liquid state to gas, simply by reaching that boiling point.

 

These all serve as reminders that our actions do make a difference. However, at some point, the ripples in the pond will stop and unless sustained, the temperature will return. The lesson is that justice is not a destination, but a process. Changing the status quo requires persistence, even in the singular drops and degrees to get us there.

 

If you want to forever change the pond, then let it rain until it overflows. If you want to change the world, focus less on ambition and more on injecting compassion into everything that you do. One drop of justice at a time, let it flow.