The world needs you

Some self help books end with a call to action along the lines of – the world needs you, to not show up would be denying others your gift.

As call to actions go it’s quite compelling. It gets under one’s skin and makes you feel guilty for not showing up.

But the part that I struggled with was ‘needs’ and ‘gift’.

Does the world really need me? What can I offer the world? I can’t change the world. I have no gift. If I did I would be rich and famous by now.

But reflecting on it more, when I think of it from the receiver’s point of view it truly is a gift.

I’m extremely thankful for Seth Godin’s consistent showing up and insights, he doesn’t inspire me everyday but he does it more often than most.

I really appreciate Christopher Nolan being so ambitious in his filmmaking, it makes for remarkable cinema.

I’m grateful that Douglas Adams was able to push through his writer’s block to deliver the quirky and hilarious ‘Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy’ it brightens my day just to think of the weird concepts in it.

Then ruminating on it even more, I’m starting to consider that the authors might not have meant worldwide change and divine gifts. Maybe they meant something smaller. Maybe they meant a difference on a more manageable scale.

A thoughtful text, a thank you gift or an empathetic listening ear may not change the world but it can make the world of difference to someone.

Even if I don’t have the confidence to say I can change the world, I have to concede I have the ability to make a difference in those around me.