Are you making a difference? Does that matter?

 Are you making a positive difference in the world? Does that matter? I woke up with those questions on my mind today as one energizing motive in my life is to live a good life, a life that creates good living for myself and others. I believe it's possible for us to create the kind of society where everyone has the opportunity to live well and do well, but there's lots of work to do in this regard. 

As a young child, I grew up in a home that valued service to others. My parents talked about that all the time and were always contributing to the larger family and greater community in multiple ways. From my earliest days I observed this and drew great joy from participating in those conversations and activities.

I drew a lot of inspiration for contribution and service to others via my education, church, and friends too. Eventually that inspired me to become an educator, and while teaching, there was never a need to seek ways to make a difference as I was challenged every day to try to make a positive difference in the lives of the children, colleagues, and families I served. This aspect of a teaching career, while very challenging, was fulfilling with regard to my desire to serve others and make a difference. 

Since retiring from teaching, I have more choice about how I spend my time and the ways in which I  might make a positive difference in the lives of others. Mostly, I spend a lot of time serving family members in countless ways. This brings me great satisfaction--I love that work. There's also more time to pay attention to the greater issues that I face with others related to the larger family and community. Am I helping to make a positive difference in that regard? What can I do more of and better in this arena?

I thought about this as I joined the Women's March in Boston yesterday. I created the two-sided sign pictured on the right that reminded me of why I chose to be there. Mainly, I chose to be there because I don't want a group of old, narrow-minded, self-serving, bigoted mostly white men telling women what to do with their bodies. In no way can those men understand the complexity that women face with regard to reproduction and in no way will a dehumanizing one-size-fits-all law promote good living for women and everyone else in this country. When you take a hard look at the stats related to strict abortion laws, you'll find there's a lot of unnecessary death, harm, and sadness. Instead, I support as much good health care and supports for good living as we can create to lead women and men down healthy, happy reproductive lives--lives where they have what they need to make the most humane, positive choices for their sexual activity and reproductive choices. That will result in more good living and good lives. After Roe vs Wade was passed, the number of abortions went down, and women were able to make good choices for their lives. I was also there to stand up and speak out for rights related to my children's and future grandchildren's good lives. As speakers mentioned yesterday, Roe vs Wade is the floor when it comes to reproductive rights, and we have to reach for the ceiling which is optimal health care and education for all. 

With this in mind, I marched around The Boston Common yesterday with a multi-age crowd. We listened to speeches, carried signs, talked to one another, and chanted. We educated each other and supported one another as we advocated for this critical cause. Protests like that can make a positive difference. As I move ahead, I want to be more politically active in positive ways to promote the best of whom we can be as a people rather than to limit, judge, and choose who has the opportunity to live a good life and who doesn't. 

I'll continue to ask the question, Am I making a difference? I know that it does matter that we all reach out to do what we can as best we can because when people have the opportunity to live good, free lives, we all live better. Onward. 

Note: As a young woman, I was fortunate to have a good education and caring supports related to reproductive rights and choices. I also lived at a time when rather than strict laws there was the opportunity to get the health care you needed. That helped me to live in a way where I didn't have to make compromises about reproductive health--I was able to make good choices that resulted in a happy life with wonderful children. I want everyone to have optimal reproductive education and positive health care so they can live their best lives.