Caring for even the smallest

I was at butterfly exhibit the other day and noticed one of the butterflies on the ground was about to be stepped on. I stopped the person about to step on this bug and leaned over to see why it was on the ground in the first place. The small butterfly had half of its wing ripped off and sat quietly, without moving. Squatting down, I placed my finger beside this beautiful creature and waited for it to crawl on my finger on its own accord. (You should always be careful to never touch a butterfly’s wings. They are very fragile.)

To my surprise, it quickly climbed on and patiently held onto my finger. I looked around for the flower that contained the most buds on it and placed the small creature on it. To make sure the butterfly also had water, I placed a moist leaf on the flower plant, in a place where the butterfly could have easy access to it.

This butterfly is a perfect example of how we tend to treat the people and animals on this world. It isn’t that we are horrible people that go though each day trying to hurt something or someone... we just tend to be oblivious to those that need our help because we are racing though our own reality.

Some people say, “Oh it was just one butterfly. What difference does it make?” Well it made a difference to that butterfly. And no I didn’t change the world by putting a bug on a plant so it wouldn’t be crushed by an oblivious human. But I changed that butterfly’s world because it was able live for another day.

                Change and impact doesn’t necessarily mean ending war or world hunger. It means taking 5 seconds to do something kind for someone or something else. Especially for those that are forgotten about, like homeless people and the elderly. Go open a door for someone and smile at them as they pass by, or pick up a piece of trash because there is too much litter on this planet already.  It doesn’t take much time to do something good

                So pick up that bug that is about to be crushed, go spend some time with a stranger in a nursing home, plant a tree, or give someone random a compliment. You never know the kind of impact that you made in their world by taking time out of your day.

                Change will not happen, until we make it happen. This world is very dark, so let’s put some light in it. Remember this… a single candle can light an entire room. Be that candle.