There is a pedestrian bridge over the River Seine in Paris that is being destroyed by love one padlock at a time.
These so-called “Love Locks” are found all over the world, but one of the most famous is the foot-bridge called Pont des Arts in Paris. It all started when a pair of star-crossed lovers showed their commitment by engraving their names on a padlock, clicking it in place on the chain-link fence of the bridge and throwing the key into the river.
Other lovers thought that would be an exceptional way to show their ardor for each other and by 2015, more than a million padlocks with a combined weight of more than 45 tons had been snapped into place on the fence, on other locks, around light posts – anywhere a couple could find an opening. It got so crowded that the fences keeping people from falling into the river started crumbling.
How could a simple padlock cause the collapse of something built to withstand the pressure of millions of feet pounding across it? The answer is: The Compound Effect.
A new concept?
Darren Hardy wrote a book by that name in 2010. It became a New York Times bestseller. But Hardy wasn’t the first person to recognize that a lot of small steps forward can bring about enormous change.
Remember that series of Eat This, Not That books by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding that started appearing around 2008? Same concept. If you cut just a few calories from your regular diet every day, you could drop pounds of fat in a year. But even they weren’t the first.
Historians credit ancient Chinese philosopher and writer Lao Tzu with this quote: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
There’s another Chinese proverb: “The man who moved a mountain was the one who began carrying away small stones.”
Why talk about small steps?
Within the past year, I’ve learned that I can accomplish the biggest goals in my life with small actions:
- I wanted to build a movement. I started with a simple weekly blog post.
- I want to write a book, so I joined a couple writer’s groups and set aside time every day to write.
- And I want to move my hundreds of craft books to the closet in my office, so I move one box a day.
What about the other way?
The Compound Effect works on the other end of the spectrum, too. By ignoring small slights or injustices, we contribute to the enormous problem we have in this world of hate and divisiveness.
- I hear a “joke” that I find offensive and ignore it.
- I see a homeless family at an intersection with a cardboard sign and I assume they are trying to scam me out of my hard earned money. Why don’t they go get jobs?
- I see a stray dog running down my road and decide it must belong to someone who lives near me or it wouldn’t be there wandering the countryside.
If we, as a global community, can take small steps to achieve big goals, can’t we do the same thing to bind our communities together, again?
An unmovable force
A group of people working together can create an unmovable force. One of my writer friends reminded me about the power of a drop of water. When one drop of water hits you, it’s a mere nuisance. You just brush it away. But millions of drops of water in the form of a wave will knock you on your butt.
There is such a thing as positive force for change. I believe we can be that positive force on our neighbors and families. If we come together, we can build up communities, create workable partnerships between community members and community leaders, and bring compassion back to the way we treat each other.
We can fight the chaos in today’s world with small, meaningful actions by each of us. What would happen if we put our anger and outrage to work for good? What if we marched to a vacant lot and cleaned it up so the kids in the neighborhood had some place safe to play? What if we put our energy to work with a shovel and some seeds in a local green space and grew a garden that would benefit everyone in the community? What if we took our outrage and turned it into support for a local political candidate who vows to work for a change?
We all have something to give.
We all can show our love for each other in constructive ways that don’t tear down the fabric of our society. And, even though we need sweeping change throughout our country, we can accomplish that goal with small steps, small actions that carry us in a better direction.
But what can I, Susie Taylor, do as a single individual? It’s time for me to stop ignoring the injustice I see. I need to speak up and step in. I need to learn how to pull people together instead of pushing them apart. And if all of us – thousands of individuals – take small steps toward good, we can’t help but create a wave that will knock hate on its rear.
What about you? What is something you can do right now to impact your world? Let me know in the comments below.
Little steps may not seem like a lot, but if padlocks can bring down a bridge, good can easily tear down hate.
Until next week,
Susie from Stix-N-Stonez
4 thoughts on “It’s Up To Us To Be A Force For Change”
This is great stuff Susie! My moment came when I discovered about 10 boxes of teaching materials in my garage. I felt overwhelmed, but realized “I can work with one box a day”. So I did. Some things (children’s books, teaching games, etc.) were donated to my public library. Most of the stuff was outdated, so one garbage bag a week was filled.
Also, I had seen an article on “kindness baggies”; you put things in baggies such as socks, granola bars, money, deodorant, etc. and give them to the person on the corner of the street with the cardboard sign…have given some in recent weeks. The homeless population around Philadelphia has exploded in recent years, and many just need a bit of kindness in their day.
Just added your blog to my bookmarks!
Thanks, David!
Tiny steps lead to such massive action
Absolutely!
Comments are closed.