I was having a smoke outside, and I began to think about what it would take to change the world. More often than not, when we think of changing the world, what we think of is grand gestures and great spectacles. After all, the world is a large place, so conventional wisdom says that any change must also be great. Revolutions, new ideologies..

But it seems to me that everything we do changes the world. If I move a cup here to there, I have changed the world. A small thing, insignificant perhaps. But if my placing of cups has been irritating my significant other for a long time, that small act of moving a cup to its proper place - according to her - may make her mood better.

Her mood being better, she may give a compliment to another person, whom she otherwise would not have complimented, and in that way brightened the day of another person. Perhaps the other person was feeling down and low that day, and the compliment changed how they felt about themselves.

In turn, perhaps they might come home, and instead of being cranky and in a foul mood, they give their children a hug and have the energy to create a proper home-cooked meal instead of buying some pre-processed junk.

Their children in turn, having eaten nutritious food and received love from their parent, is lifted and may partake in play with their friends and after-school activities, instead of crashing out in their bedroom.

It seems to me that small acts ripple outwards. I placed a cup in the dishwasher instead of placing it on the bench beside the dishwasher, and the world was changed. Maybe not always like this, but sometimes.

The act of changing the world as a small being in it, begins I think, with acting deliberately to create the change you want. There is nothing we do that does not in some way change the entirety of the universe, and if we act unconsciously about it, the effects of our changes seems to come randomly to us. Then we say things like "Why did this happen to me, what did I ever do to deserve it". And we don't really know, because we created it unconsciously.

But if I place a cup in its proper place consciously.. who knows what could come from that.

The large rules the small. That much is obvious to us. Government, taxes, school and work. Expectations from the outside, it seems we are often at the mercy of the large. Few consider that the large is governed by the small, in equal measure. It sounds so unlikely, that a small act of kindness should ripple outwards and change the whole of the universe.

But it does. Because all is connected, and no change happens in a vacuum. We often feel small and insignificant. We are, and we are not. Both are true, at once. So I invite you to step into the large within yourself and act from that.

Do you see it?

I like to think that my writing changes the world. Who knows what ripples I have created with this post. I do not know. But I know the spirit in which it was written. I know the intention I held when I wrote it. From there, all I can do is trust myself.

There is a subtle power in the world. It does not shout, it does not command. But it is very real. As real as presidents and super-powers, and it is yours to wield.