Make the world better one smile at a time.  Be “an irrestible force for positive change”.  “Life is better because of  you”.  I love these positive, upbeat thoughts.   And, when they are the foundation for a great little book…well all the better. One of the perks of working in a bookstore for me is I get to see all the new stuff and also be around when authors come for signings and readings.  And, of course then I buy copies.  My husband use to say I could keep working in the bookstore as long as I didn’t spend more than my paycheck.  I never did the math but I am sure our bank account came out on the short end of the stick.  

Anyway, this book I’m talking about is Better Because of You by Ginny Hutchinson and Cathy Haffner.  I got to hear Cathy share hers and Ginny’s story of writing this little gem and starting www.betterbecause.com.  I bought 10 copies and gave it for Christmas presents to my best girlfriends.  What a gem on how to make life just a little bit better!! 

“If it is to be let it begin with me” 

“It’s up to each of you to participate in life” (his Holiness the Dali Lama)

These are two of the inspiring quotes that begin the book and it goes from there with an alphabet of words of wisdom that are the kind I love to read and ponder.  A little bit of inspiration, simple, practical, a must read, enriching…I find myself just wandering through its pages.  I love the colored pages and the chapters full of words to live by;  of “true to life stories that can help you do small things each day to make a big difference in your life.”

How often do I think that for something to make a difference it has to be big?  I love the story of the star thrower in the village where star fish that wash up on the shore are caught and killed.  There is one lone man who walks the beach early in the mornings when he cannot sleep and if he sees a starfish still alive throws it as far back into the sea as he can.  Someone one time asks him why he does that; doesn’t he know that it is only one starfish and how can that make a difference?  He answers that to that one starfish it makes a difference. 

So, one little gem of a book, one starfish thrown by one man, one smile, one dollar donated…how can you and I make a difference?  Check out Ginny and Cathy’s book and website…make a difference.