Walking across Central Park this morning, I revisited a conversation I had with a colleague yesterday about the legacies we leave behind in our lives.  My mind moved, this morning, to the distinction between the final legacy of a life lived – children, professional accomplishments, contributions to society – and the small, moment-to-moment legacies we leave behind each day.  These legacies emerge from our everyday interactions with other people, as when I say good morning to the doorman as I leave for work each day, or when I meet people in the park who have become part of my morning’s experience.  These moments are nothing dramatic, nor are they particularly impacting.  Added together, though, they create the tone of the day and color the legacy I’ve left behind as I’ve moved through the world.

I ran across this idea, much more eloquently expressed by Krishnamurti, in a book called “Wisdom”, by Danielle and Olivier Follmi.  I’ve mentioned this book before.  It’s a collection of daily meditations and photographs from a perspective of teachings from India.  In this particular quotation, Krishnamurti talks about what we can do to respond specifically to the violence we see all around us in the world.  In response to what can often be a sense of helplessness or inability to do anything that makes a difference, he says, “I think you can tremendously influence the world if you yourself are not violent, if you lead actually every day a peaceful life – a life which is not competitive, ambitious, envious – a life which does not create enmity.  Small fires can become ablaze.”

This quotation got me to thinking about other qualities that bring about more compassionate living and that affect not only our own lives but the lives of our communities.  These qualities, such as compassion and kindness, generate small daily acts that, over time, add up to make a tangible difference in ourselves and our world.   For example, we might take the time to spontaneously offer someone help, or remember to send a note to a family member or friend who is ill, or elderly, or visit someone who is lonely because he or she can’t easily get out into the world to see people.

In times when there are such big events going on the world, such as the hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, where we may feel overwhelmed at what we aren’t able to do to help directly, we can remember that we can make a positive difference right where we are, right here, right now.  And so, for this week’s experiment, I invite you to pay attention to the small actions you take on a daily basis – actions that support Krishnamurti’s thought that “small fires can become ablaze” if we take the time to live consciously and bring into our self-expression the qualities we want to see in the world.