The Moth

While I was standing at my front door this morning looking outside I spotted a little moth flying around.  The sun was hitting its wings at just the right angle to light it up and made it look like it was iridescent.  I don’t know why this caught my attention but I watched the moth for a minute as it just fluttered around.

And then a bird swooped by and ate the moth.

It made me start to think about the moth and the fact that he was just floating around, maybe going somewhere – maybe going no where in particular, but just floating around minding his own business.  And along came the bird and the moth was history.

Will anyone remember the moth?  Who really cares about the moth?  Other than the bird and I there probably was no other being aware of its existence.  And soon even the bird and I will forget about the moth.

The moth’s existence was both brief and unremarkable and, if it were not for me just happening to be looking out the door at that moment and the bird being hungry, would have gone completely unnoticed.

Do I want to be like the moth – going through life and ending up almost completely unnoticed?  Do any of us really want to be like the moth?

When my time is up, I don’t want to just leave this world without having made my mark.  I would like to think that my life was more than just fluttering around.  In the end, when I am accounting for my life, I want to be able to say that I made a difference in the world.  I want others to feel that I, somehow, made a difference in their lives.

When I talk about changing the world, I don’t want to make my goals seem unrealistic and unattainable; I don’t need to change the “whole world”, I only need to try to make the little bit of it that I live in a better place for those around me.

So what can I do?

Immediately around me I can try to be a better mate, father, son, and brother.  I would like to try to be as supportive to my family as I am able.

With my friends, I can be there for them when they need me.  To listen when they need to talk and comfort them when they need comfort – all the while giving them the confidence that their secrets are safe with me.  I can tell a joke when they need to laugh or give them a shoulder when they need to cry.

In business, I can be ethical, fair, and compassionate.  I can put my clients needs ahead of mine so that I can assure myself that I will take care of their needs based upon their needs not my own.

In my community, I can donate my time to help others or I can carry out random acts of kindness.  I have always wanted to walk up to people who appear to be in need and hand them a gift certificate to a local grocery store and just walk away.  I think now is a good time to start doing this.

What do I ask in return?  Nothing.

I don’t need their thanks or praise; knowing that I might have made someone’s day a little better is satisfaction enough.  Because I know that whatever I reap I will sow.  If I treat people with kindness, I will receive kindness in return.  If I am there for people when they need me, they will be there for me when I need them.

Let’s not all end up like the moth.

Don’t just float around waiting until the bird comes for us; make something of yourself.

Become noticed.

The moth had no idea when the end of his time might be.  And neither do we.

Make a difference.  Touch someone’s life.   Make a mark on the world.  Or, at least your little part of it.

Share with us your thoughts…

What will you do to make your life memorable?  How will you make yourself different from the moth?