The Power of We (Starts with Me)

Today is Blog Action Day, and all around the world, bloggers from every niche join together online to talk about a collective topic. This year’s topic is The Power of We.   Community: It’s truly a beautiful thing and something I’ve experienced right here on my own blog and around the blogsphere.

I don’t talk about the running of my blog often, because it’s not what my blog is about. It’s not about blogging but rather the beauty of engaging with our children, in the the moments we have; weaving wonder and joy into time that already is.  It’s about good fun and small joys.  It’s about loving nature and stopping to smell the roses.  It’s about motherhood: the wondrous privilege, the overwhelming challenge and everything in-between.  My blog is about stories and the truth behind them.

The paragraph above? That is what I like to write about in this online space, but today, I want to talk about my blog, and how it’s part of a band bloggers who look for opportunities to use their space online for social good.

Back in April 2012, I became a World Vision Blog Ambassador, along with 10 other bloggers, and you can read about it here: Looking Beyond.   We all have our own blogs, and write about very different topics, but what unites us, is the desire to make a difference, and the belief that we can, even though the challenges are great.

I believe making a difference is something we can all do, and it’s less about giving and more about an attitude, and I’ve realised this more fully as I’ve put it into practice, here on my blog and in my everyday life. Making a difference for me is about opening my eyes with compassion, to see people as people; looking for opportunities to give as I live my life with joy and being fearless in following through. To just do it.  I realise, that, so very often, it’s my own fear that holds me from kindness.

My blog is an extension of myself, and here too, I look for ways to make a difference, whether that be supporting fellow Blog Ambassador Eden as she covered the food crisis in West Africa, running in my very first fun run to raise money for people in need, placing banner advertising on my sidebar for current fundraising needs, or allocating a percent of the earning from this blog to buy World Vision Gifts.  To date, this blog has contributed to families in need with the gifts below. (If you want to know more about how I earn money through this blog, read my disclosure post).

The Power of We starts with Me. With me. And I know small things make a difference because of you.  Yes you. I know how a lovely email can brighten my day, a sweet story shared can reinforce priorities and how people getting behind me can help me run like the wind. Never underestimate the power of community and connection. Whether that be sharing a tip on an online forum, a warm smile to someone in the street, heart-felt conversation, helping someone around you or being a voice to those in need around the world. Never underestimate the power of giving, when you feel that tug on your heart.

I want to end this post with Tim Costelle’s answer to my question about how, just a small person like me, can make a difference in the world.

The Power of We starts with Me.