"IF I ruled the world," sang the late Harry Secombe. If Harry ruled the world every day would be the first day of spring and every heart would have a new song to sing. In Harry's world everything would be perfect.
Sadly Harry did not rule the world. Neither do we. Every day we are confronted by national and international problems but feel powerless about them.
The current wars in the Middle East and the ongoing economic crises are but two examples. If only we ruled the world we could get them all sorted out. Despite our lack of power we can still make a difference. The difference we can make is in the small corner of the world that is ours.
Every day we have opportunity to affect the lives of those around us. We can be courteous to the overworked girl at the supermarket checkout.
We can offer a listening ear to an anxious friend. We can encourage the bus driver who takes us into work by thanking him for his service.
As far as possible we can live our lives with a certain cheer. The changing of the world begins within each one of us.
We can make all the difference in our small corner of the world wherever that corner may be.
My daily work as a Church of England rector begins at 8.30am with morning prayers in church.
One prayer we regularly say goes something like this. "Dear God, so bless us this day that we might be a blessing to all whom we meet."
To be a blessing to all whom we meet is not a bad goal in our lives. I am sure Harry Secombe would approve.
