I’ve always wanted to make a difference. To do something heroically epic that makes a significant and beneficial impact on mankind. Not because I want to be famous or anything, but because I have a real desire to make the world a better place in a major, global-scale way. A desire that also makes me feel frustrated because it seems impossible to achieve.
Maybe you’ve felt the same way. And maybe you, like me, have heard things like it’s the little things that matter the most and small acts of kindness can change the world. Only it doesn’t seem that way when you open doors for others and say an encouraging word and surprise someone with a gift. Sure, those things are wonderful to do, but it doesn’t feel like the world was changed. Honestly, in ten or twenty or thirty years, will the fact that you did your brother’s chores for a day out of the goodness of your heart really matter?
Because you want to do something that actually matters.
You want to make a difference.
That’s one of my absolute favorite quotes by one of my absolute favorite authors. Hobbits, as I’m sure you know, are not the grandest of creatures. In fact they are so insignificant, relative to everything that’s going on in Middle Earth, that Sauron the Dark Lord who’s been alive for millennia has never heard of them and definitely does not consider them a threat. Never mind a threat. He doesn’t even consider them at all. Until it’s too late.
It was a little hobbit that destroyed the Ring, not a mighty Elf or Dwarf or Man. It was a little hobbit that changed the course of the future. (And by the way, I’m mostly talking about Sam, the true hero of the Lord of the Rings. Sam, the humble gardener, low-ranking even by hobbit standards. Sam, the one and only.)
So. This means that I, a girl much much much less courageous than even a hobbit, has a chance to change the future, right?
Well.
As much as I love that quote and as encouraging as it is…I still have that desire to make a difference. A desire that is not quite fulfilled in small random acts of kindness. Or in being a small person myself.
Here’s where time travel comes into play.
We’ve all seen those movies and read those books. Someone travels back through time. They sneeze in front of some poor soul, who lurches back to avoid them, who bumps into someone they shouldn’t have bumped into…and all of a sudden the past has changed, which means the present has changed. Then the time traveler has to race to fix the repercussions of what he did to keep history the same way and save Time (TM).
Or something like that.
One small act in the past can dramatically affect the present. I can accept that in time travel stories especially since I may or may not be writing one myself. Why is it so hard to accept that one small act in the present can dramatically affect the future? Because in the future, the present is going to be the past.
Trust me, Smeagol, it makes perfect sense if you think about it.
Turns out, it’s not so hard to accept, when you look at it through a time-traveling perspective. Simple acts of kindness and generosity and sacrifice might seem small now, but through time, they have a ripple affect that grows until you are impacting not just that one person, but thousands and thousands of people — across decades.
Yes, it’s not the same as curing cancer. Or finding the solution to global hunger. Or stopping wars and saving lives. At least directly. But that smile to someone who just lost a loved one, that helping hand when no one else is around, that act of simple selflessness…it matters.
It makes a difference.
You may never know how, you may never realize how many people were affected because you served others in front of yourself…but so what? That doesn’t make it any less important than those big, epic, magnificent deeds in history’s spotlight.
Hopefully, this time-travel-perspective helps you realize how important small, everyday actions are, be they good or bad. History might not recognize you for it. You yourself might not even realize how many lives you impact. But know this, my friend: everything little thing you do matters.
On a Completely Unrelated Note…
Zachary Holbrook, one of my writer-friends, is running a campaign to connect with more readers. I have been privileged to be an alpha reader for his upcoming novel and I cannot express how much I enjoyed it and how masterful his writing is. Do check out his website here and consider subscribing to his mailing list.
Also, you may or may not have noticed, but I haven’t posted in a while because I have been neck-deep in summer community college classes. I will also be leaving on vacation shortly, so if you don’t hear from me for a few weeks, fear not! I will be back, with many stories about my voyages to share with you.
Until then…
Bon voyage!
The Voyaging Storyteller 
Thank you for this ❤
I too want to make a difference – a noticeable, worthwhile difference – and I always have wanted to, and it's always scary to stop and think that I have a really good chance of entirely failing in that goal. Sure, I have dreams and ambitions and plans, but those can fall through. As of now, I've done NOTHING big or world-changing with my life, and I can't know that will ever change.
I believe, of course, in the importance of small things. I know and have known enough beautiful, kind people to know that those small things make ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENCE to the people whose lives you touch in those small ways – and that is, after all, the most important kind of difference – but somehow it still doesn't seem the same. Maybe it's because I'm not naturally the outgoing, friendly, live-for-others type. It's hard for me, not so much to have kind impulses, as to actually GO AND DO kind things. I'd rather do grand and impressive things. xD And as you say, what difference does it make in the grand scheme of things if you generously do your brother's chores for him one day?
But the time travel thing – that's so smart! That's so cool. YES. Small actions can and do have big consequences. (Also, they're practice. He that is faithful in little, and so, I presume, he that is kind in little, he that is generous in little, he that is selfless in little, etc.)
I LOVE THIS POST. It was so encouraging and I am going to remember it. THANK YOU.
(Also, I hope you have a fun vacation!!)
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YES, that is so true! Wanting to do something epic and feeling like small things don’t matter as much…but AMEN, I love that passage. How can we expect to handle the responsibility of big things before we do small things? Pesky logic, always getting in the way of grand ambitions. XD
Aww, I’m SO GLAD you thought this was encouraging! Thank YOU for your kind and thoughtful words. I always love your comments.
(Thank you!! I’m excited.)
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Wonderful post, Elisha!! ❤ I really enjoyed this. What an amazing quote…I’ve never heard of that one before! It is so true that little actions can make a difference and they do add up and can change the world.
I actually just recently read through the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time, and I was completely blown away. I had read The Hobbit before but had never picked up the trilogy. I’m now a complete fan of the series!! 😀
Thank you so much for posting, and I hope you have a wonderful vacation!!
-Esther
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Thank you so much Esther!! I’m incredibly happy you enjoyed it.
Aaah, that is so awesome! *high-fives fellow fan* LoTR is absolutely the best. Who’s your favorite character?
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Ooh, that’s really hard. I love all of the characters (the good guys, of course 😛)!! I would say that one of my favorites is Sam, though. He just super nice and caring for Frodo as Frodo is being weighted down with the Ring.
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I love this! I never thought of small acts in this way before, but it’s so true. I always knew that we could make a difference by doing even the smallest thing, but it never really sank in. This post helped with that. I guess the key is realizing that you won’t always see the results of what you do. You could have an impact on someone’s life that you never end up seeing again. You won’t have a clue. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. And like time-travel movies show us, each small thing creates ripple effects. Everything starts small before they escalate into the big, “significant” decisions and actions that seem so grand to us.
Also, linking it to hobbits is wonderful and makes it just that much more awesome. 🙂
Great post!
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Definitely, it kind of goes back to that seeing is believing thing, only with actions. How we think all too often that things don’t exist because we can’t see them. Terribly silly of us mortals.
Haha, indeed! I try to link hobbits to anything and everything, whenever I can. 😆
Thank you so much Sponge!!
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Ah, I love that Tolkien quote. It hits home every time, convicting and inspirational. ❤ Lovely post. 🙂
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Doesn’t it? I can’t count how many times I’ve read it and it’s always simply delicious. Thank you Amelie! 😊
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Hi, Elisha! Hope you’ve been doing well. 💖 I tagged you for the Bookish Bucket List Tag! You can check it out here: https://esthersnook.wordpress.com/2020/09/12/the-bookish-bucket-list-tag-the-liebster-award/
If you don’t want to do it, there’s absolutely no pressure. 😉
Have an amazing day!
-Esther
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