How much can one person really do?

Lately I've been struggling with this question, and with the thought, 'what am I really accomplishing with my life?' Two things have prompted this journal entry: today is my 32nd birthday, and I've been reading \"Infidel\" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Here is a woman who has really struggled and fought to gain knowledge and change her life. It's been an eye-opening read, and I recommend it. Yet I don't want to simply close the book and return it to the shelf. I want to add my voice to the many voices raising up for change. But how? and where? and what do I say? I am a simple, middle-class Canadian with a small social circle. And I often feel that my feeble attempts to help may never accomplish as much as a person like Ayaan.

I guess though, it's the little things isn't it? It's the letter I write to my sponsored child in Ghana. It's joining the Rafiki Club on this website to connect with women in Kenya. But it's also the person in my own city of Edmonton who I don't ignore or brush off. It's taking the time to listen to someone's problems. It's doing the best I can with what I have been given.

I yearn to do more though. It's almost an ache in my heart. Perhaps joining this site is another small step towards being able to look at my life and feel proud of what I have accomplished.