Changing the World

 "Oh, MOM, you look like a troll!"  Any other time, I'd be insulted but seeing as how it was super windy, my hair was standing on end and Trolls was his current favorite movie, I took it as a compliment.  Call me Princess Poppy!

Trolls is entertaining...the first 3 or 4 times.  But after a weekend camping with no internet and only one downloaded movie, it was all that was available for the long drive home.  So Ike watched it.  And watched it again when we got home.  And again the next morning.  And again.  And again.  And again.  I noticed at the end of the week that Trolls was listed as number 4 in movies that day.

"You know that's because of us, right?"  Nick said.  He might be right.  "I'll bet we're up to number 3 by the end of the weekend."

Well, wouldn't that be something.  

Trolls remained a favorite for quite some time.  The daily "how was your day" turned into "are you feeling like Poppy or Branch?"  And then, of course, the windy day incident happened.  After about 10 days of excessive Troll watching, I noticed a peculiar thing.  

Trolls was now the number 3 movie!

What???  Really??  Was that even possible?

I was telling a co-worker this strange phenomenon and she didn't seem phased by it at all.  

"That's proof!" She said.

"Of what?" I asked.

"That even in small ways, we CAN change the world!"  Well, if that wasn't a Poppy mentality!

But she was right.  Sometimes, in the impact organization world that I'm living in, it's easy to get cynical.  It's easy to see only the flaws in people or to want to take someone by the shoulders and give them a good, hard shake and say "don't you GET it??".  It's easy to focus on the fact that for every life we save, there are a hundred more we won't.  For every child who visits, there are a dozen more who can't.  I find myself asking what's it all for?  Is it even worth it?

But really that one life saved and that one child who is forever changed might just be the one that makes a difference--the tipping point for others.  Even if I never know it.

And so we go on saving lives and inviting children to visit.  We go on, being Poppy to every Branch, let our True Colors shine through so that their worlds can go from grey to the brilliance of Lady Glitter Sparkles (Seriously!).



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