Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home. There\u2019s a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water\u2019s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHello,\u201d I said. \u201cI see you here every Sunday morning. If you don\u2019t mind my nosiness, I\u2019d love to know what you\u2019re doing with these turtles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She smiled. \u201cI\u2019m cleaning off their shells,\u201d she replied. \u201cAnything on a turtle\u2019s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle\u2019s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWow! That\u2019s really nice of you!\u201d I exclaimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She went on: \u201cI spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out. It\u2019s my own strange way of making a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut don\u2019t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYep, sadly, they do,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I scratched my head. \u201cWell then, don\u2019t you think your time could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world. And 99% of these turtles don\u2019t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no offense\u2026 but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman giggled aloud. She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, \u201cSweetie, if this little guy could talk, he\u2019d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The moral:<\/strong> You can change the world \u2013 maybe not all at once, but one person, one animal, and one good deed at a time. Wake up every morning and pretend like what you do makes a difference. It does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n