Do you like to meet up with your friends at a coffee shop, just to relax and have a visit? 

 I saw a writing prompt about being at a virtual coffee shop and I love the idea of all of us sitting around chatting. 

I picture walking into a hometown diner and shaking off a sopping wet umbrella. After grabbing a steamy cup of hot tea, I’d pull up a chair next to yours. 

Friends, old and new, pile in, filling up the other seats. The atmosphere is warm and cheery on a rather blustery fall day. 

We’d start with the usual small talk and I’d venture to say the conversation would take on a pretty sad note considering the recent world events going on. 

I’d probably mention that we drove to an area town today and that my heart nearly broke when I saw the three giant flags at half staff. 

I’m sure I’d bring up some things that have been on my mind lately. For instance, I’ve been pondering what we can do to make this world a more nurturing place. 

On a grand scale, the world seems a bit out of reach. I mean, the world is huge! One look at a globe and it’s easy to get swallowed up in the can’ts of making a difference. 

I mean, come on, really? One person seems pretty small in a world of millions. But, I learned a long time ago, if your heart is in it, it can be done. 

Now, let’s suppose we break that hugeness up into small parts. If one small person becomes lots of people, maybe we can change the world. 

Ok, maybe not the entire world, but what if we can change the world where we are? Maybe that will have a ripple effect.

Here are some ideas for changing the world where we are~

We can teach kindness. From what I know, the easiest way to teach kindness, is to show kindness. 

We can share joy. I’m sure that sounds ridiculously simple, but joy brings feelings of hope, faith, and happiness. It’s hard for meanness to set up a tent where joy resides. 

We can send out positive thoughts. It seems like negativity makes negativity multiply. Let’s choose to fill the world with positive light instead. 

We can show compassion towards others. That’s relatively easy to do, if we just step into someone else’s shoes. 

We can help people when we can. A smile to a stranger. Feeding someone who is hungry. Lending a helping hand to someone when they need it. 

We can give small gifts of cheer. Sending a card or letter to a relative we haven’t seen in a while. A bouquet of wildflowers for a friend. Calling someone just to say hello. 

By doing these simple things are we really changing the world? Hmmm. That’s a toss up. The best  I can tell, is there’s a lesson that lies in the wording. 

Changing the world sounds pretty impossible. 

Changing someone’s world sounds pretty do-able. 

Back at our virtual coffee shop, I can just imagine everyone checking their watches and yawning. 

Standing up to stretch, we bid each other farewell, perhaps feeling a bit better, simply because we swapped about ideas about making a difference somehow. 

As we hold the door to let each other out, the sun has poked through the clouds and the rain has suddenly stopped.