Show up with JOY in all you do, and good things happen.
Ripple effects can be small and last a very long time (sometimes forever).
I went to Haiti on a service trip in my sophomore year in college. Our goal was to help build a basketball court and install solar panels on several buildings at the Louverture Cleary School in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
To help install the solar panels, we met up with a group of engineers from Rockford, Illinois. I remember all of us showing up with multitudes of suitcases stuffed to the brim with workbooks, clothes, food, power tools, and machines. It was a different time! Can you imagine trying to pull that off now?
I helped with starting the basketball court, mixing cement by hand, and moving rocks out of the area. It was SO MUCH work and absolutely AMAZING all at once.
One member of the team from Rockford was Ken. I remember having a blast working alongside him, joking and laughing. Later he sent a letter explaining that I did a great job, gave him hope for the future generation, and helped him not miss his kids. He included this "smooth rock" as an inside joke.
I came across this letter while cleaning the storage room this week, and realized the rock he gave from the rock pile has been in my side table drawer since 2006!
A little part of me doesn't know why I kept it, but in a way, it's a symbol of doing good things.
Show up with JOY in all you do, and good things happen.
You can make a difference even when you don't think you do!
What do you keep as symbols in your life to Have a Good Ripple Effect? I'd love to see them!
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