Before beginning to write here, I wrote a blog everyday for five years at Recover Your Joy. Since starting to write here everyday, I’ve cut back on my writing at Recover Your Joy. Yesterday, I posted about how I miss it. I also wrote about how turning up there every day to write about – Joy – has changed my life.

And a young woman who lives in London, England wrote in to comment. Through her comment, I visited her blog, On the Way and found an incredible video called, Fears vs Dreams.

And from there, I visited the site “To Write Love on Her Arms” — a not-for-profit dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. They are also the creators of the Fear vs Dreams project.

In my ten minute journey through the blogosphere, I was moved, touched, and inspired.

That’s the difference we make when we connect, heart-to-heart openly and authentically. That’s the difference we make when we say — hey!  I have fears. I have dreams and I am willing to speak up. That’s the difference we make when we are willing to be vulnerable.

What struck me in looking through the photos posted at Fear vs Dreams is how young the dreamers are.

While it caused me to wonder — what are we doing to our children?  — it also caused me to wonder something else — do they see how amazing they are? How courageous? How brave?

It takes courage to speak about our fears, and our dreams. It takes a brave spirit. And every one of those who write their greatest fear and greatest dream on the white panel board and hold it in front of them and have their picture taken to be posted on the website — is incredibly brave, courageous and inspiring. (And yes, it is not Saturday — but they are still heroes to me.)

I don’t have the answer to my question — What are we doing to our children? — because what we are doing to our children is what we are doing to ourselves, to our world, to everyone around us. There is lots of evidence of ‘what’s wrong’  — but what about ‘what’s right’?

How we do one thing is how we do all things. And how we do the ‘right things’ makes a difference.

How I choose to make a difference, makes a difference. What I do, everything, makes a difference.

And that’s the answer I found this morning. There are millions, billions of people in the world doing the right thing, doing things to make a difference, reaching out to share their hopes and dreams and fears too. There are millions, billions standing up even when life punches them down. There are millions, billions, speaking up even when their fears tell them to shut up. And there are millions, billions reaching out even when their pain would say, Hold Back!

Making a difference is in all of us. (I think it’s part of the human DNA).

We all have a role to play in making this world the world we’ve always dreamed of. We all have a role to play in sharing Love. Peace. Joy. In sharing a smile, a handshake, a hug.

We all have a role to play in making a difference.

What role will you play today? Will you stand up to your fears or give into your dreams? What will you do today to make your heart sing?