The Superpower of Small | A Letter From Donna Letier

Another week of the new normal is coming to a close, and I found myself thinking about the surreal moment we are living in today. I think about how I will describe this time in history. Will I be able to say that the fear of the time moved my faith forward, that I learned what the word “hope” really meant, that the term “pay it forward” became a national movement, or that the word “gratitude” became recognized as a verb? 

While my heart is heavy for my friends who have lost a job or have had to let teams go, for families who are struggling with financial uncertainty, for those who have lost a loved one, and for disappointment in what was and is now gone, I stand in awe at the resiliency I see around me. Parents are turning into creative home school teachers, friends are checking in on each other, CEOs are stocking shelves, and world leaders are serving in hospitals. This is a time where small acts of kindness abound — not because a camera is around, but because it’s needed. 

This is a Holy Week: a time for spiritual renewal. It makes me think about what is worth renewing when life goes back to normal. We will certainly come out of this different. I suspect the landscape around us will feel altered — there will be a greater feeling of equality, care, and compassion. Finding time to break bread together as a family in simple surroundings, at home, will take on new meaning. We will be people with patience, we will be a country where business leaders come together quickly for the greater good, and the word “community” means more than ever.  

But today, with so many uncertainties ahead, I hope we can all let ourselves be nurtured by nature, each other, and the superpower of small acts of kindness. We are growing through this individually, but together. There is strength and power in gratitude. Practice it, let it grow, and light the way for our tomorrow.

Growing together with gratitude,

Donna