“The greatest things ever done on earth have been done little by little.”
–Thomas Guthrie
Most of us are in too big a hurry as we travel life’s journey. We like to see immediate results from our actions, and we become discouraged if we don’t experience success by the time we expect it. But most things worthwhile take a long time to accomplish. Nobody sits down to the piano for the first time and begins making beautiful music. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to become an accomplished musician. Likewise, it takes a long time for a tiny acorn to become a mighty oak tree.
What we can accomplish in a single day may not seem like very much, but most of us can accomplish more in a lifetime than we can imagine. Often our efforts continue to bear fruit long after our death, sometime for centuries. The Wright brothers’ contribution to aviation is still the foundation upon which the ongoing advancements in flight, including space travel, are built. It is on the shoulders of pioneers in any field that later contributors stand.
The ancient pyramids of Egypt stand as monuments to the labors of men who built them more than 2,000 years ago. Khufu’s pyramid at Giza was the largest true pyramid ever built, and it has always been considered one of the greatest manmade wonders of the world. It is believed that it took 100,000 men, working seasonally for as long as 20 years, to build this massive structure. This is an excellent example of just how much a large number of individuals, working together toward a common goal over a period of many years, can accomplish, and how long the accomplishment can last beyond the lifetimes of the initial contributors.
If we all did our part in trying to make this a better and more loving world on a long-term basis, collectively, we could literally change the world. But not everybody does his part toward improving the world. On the contrary, the actions of many people have a negative effect on the world. They are takers from this world–not givers. They care only about themselves, and they focus on what the world can do for them. With some people having such a negative impact on the world, it is necessary for many of us to have a positive impact just to offset the effect of those people. And if we want to truly make the world a better place, it takes as many of us as possible, doing as much good as we can, for as long as we can.
Think about it.
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Copyright 2024
Allen W. Smith
