Today my wife and kids were grabbing lunch, to my despair at none other than the local McDonald's, when a stranger approached them. This random lady was so moved by what she saw in Ella and her un repaired cleft lip that it drove her to walk up to a complete stranger and open her heart. She told my wife in broken English that she always saw on television the commercials of kids with cleft lip and had wanted to donate, but for whatever reason never has. Seeing our new family moved her deeply and she said she just wanted to say something. She continued on to tell my wife that she is committed to definitively going home tonight and donating to www.smiletrain.org or some other charity dealing with cleft palates.
I don't know if she will or not but all along this journey I have tried my best to be open about our reasoning's etc for which there were many. The one I often have not shared is that secret hope that we are setting an example others will follow, that others will be empowered by what they see. That we are challenging the norms, changing opinions. This stranger today gave me a gift by just sharing that she was moved, that one of my many hopes of this adventure played out.
I know for every one story told there are more not spoken and with that I sleep well knowing you the reader of this blog and many other random folks will walk away and be inspired in some way to do something positive for society.
Here's to Ghandi and Thich Nat Han for their thoughts on being the change we want to see in this world and engaged Buddhism. Which I'd like to combine here as "Be the change you want to see in this world, by doing."
