All the Difference in the World

Somewhere I read a story. It was a long time ago so I don't quite remember it but it went more or less like this.

There was a boy once. After a storm he walked along the beach, picking up shells and starfish the tides had washed over the sand and he returned them to the sea. Hours passed and he realized he had returned very few, compared to the number of those that still remained along the beach.

Disheartened, he turned to his father. "I quit," he said. "Look at the beach, it's pointless! There are so many no one would say I've spent so much time here already.  I am really not making any difference."

The father placed his hand on his son's head. "For the ones you're helping, it makes all the difference in the world."

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I've received many gifts from this community since I started my blog. E-books, Amazon Cards, paper books, music, a tablet... I have already thanked the givers at the moment I received the gifts. Yet on Friday I got the autographed Audiomachine CD, "Tree of Life". It was the prize for my collaboration in the Branching Out Collaborative Writing Challenge hosted by awesome Samantha Geary. As I listened to this amazing CD, I thought on all the gifts I received up to this one. I thought on the people who had sent them to me, the moment they arrived to my life and how they have impacted my life at one time or another.

Anybody would think they are just books, or music, or a tablet. So what's special in them? I'm surely not the only one who has these items or the only one who has received something from these people. Most likely those who sent them to me have absolutely no idea of the magnitude of my gratitude towards them. That's why I'm feeling the need to write this post. 

To the senders, these things represent exactly what they are. To me, they're marvels worth more than gold. They are more than entertainment. 

I appreciate the fact that the person took the time and effort to send it all the way to Mexico. I grin like an idiot as I read and re-read the few words that came along. Some didn't bring a personal note, but I have the person's thoughts and I hold on to that. Furthermore, if I would express in detail the impact of each of these gifts in my life, it would be a very long post. I would have to tell you about the item AND about the forces that were put in motion through those items. Each one has a story behind it and not precisely the one inside the pages (in the case of books).

Regardless what your eyes may tell you, what you see in the picture above is a wonderful painkiller and soul breather, a remedy for broken wings, a pack of love and hugs, a soul mirror, a tool for hope and faith, and a sign from Above. Each time I look at each one of these items, each time I hold them in my dragon hands, I cannot help but to think on the respective senders and thank them again and again in my heart. I pray to the Higher Powers each of them receive blessings of equal magnitude to the ones they unknowingly produced in my life. 

DPK, Alex, Laura, Mike, Sammy, Melissa, I want you to know that even if to you it was nothing, you made all the difference in the world to me.

To everybody I say this. Never be disheartened if you see there's still too much to do, or that you're doing too little and covering short distances. Or that you reach too few. You do make all the difference in the world in every single life you touch, even if you don't always get to see it or know it. It might be a slight gesture for you, but it still may work miracles for someone else. Even a kind smile has the power to save someone's life. Do not underestimate the good you can do, just because you don't see the effects. There is more in this world than what our sight can cover or our brain perceives.