Something Big, Yet So Small

One of my greatest wishes - and I believe a lot of people feel the same - is to make a difference. For most of my life I have wanted to be a part of something. Anything.

I moved cities, I changed buildings, I changed schools and inevitably, most of my time was spent trying to simply fit it. When I started working, I continued to be what I call a "changer". I changed 4 jobs in about 5+ years of working. Yes, I had my reasons - career progression, health and personal changes. But, there is always a but. The but here is that it meant that in the 5 years since I began my career, my process of settling has continued and the settlement has never happened.

I was also never really a sports-person - my hobbies are primarily reading and writing -- and hence, the only thing that became a part of, was my own mind and thoughts. Somehow though, I have always wanted to do something beyond. Starting with my graduation years, I would dream of doing some "good" of being a part of an organization with some higher goals. Somewhere this stayed a dream and my higher goals gave way to choices that met expectation goals of others (and somewhere of the conditioning I had). Surprisingly, for me and others, I continued to dream that dream - of making a difference. My MBA yearbook states that I dream of starting my own NGO - as part of a finance batch of an MBA institute - I know that that dream set me apart.

But what happened to my dream - I think somewhere I realized what it really was - it was always a dream to do something that I could give my best to, that allowed me to feel like i belonged to a team and that I could contribute and make a difference.

There are so many identities we hold - we are affiliated to a school, a college, an organization, a family, a group of friends, a country. That sense of belonging goes beyond your presence in that place physically. Patriotism is perhaps the simplest and strongest sense of belonging. I moved away from my country - the place I could call home, and suddenly, I found a place where I belonged. As for making a difference - I will go back some day, work as hard as I can, find work that i enjoy and give it my hundred percent - the difference, will be of one individual times hundred percent.

Hum of the day
To belong is to know that nothing can take that belonging away. To make a difference is to know that somewhere, something, anything, or anyone is better because of you. It really is that simple. I belong and I make a differnce- we all do -- no matter what.