“My hope still is to leave the world a bit better than when I got here.”
This quote is by Jim Henson, a well-known puppeteer, animator, inventor, and filmmaker, perhaps best known as the creator of The Muppets.
Henson’s quote resonates with me because it conveys both hope and humility. Hope and humility are two qualities essential to living our lives in a meaningful way. Henson’s having the goal of in some way doing his part to make the world better expresses a hopefulness, a belief that it is possible to do that. And he shows humility by using the words “my hope” and “a bit better,” rather than suggesting he has all the answers. Henson’s words are a quiet affirmation of what might be possible.
If each of us had the goal of leaving the world a bit better, and sincerely tried to make that happen, the lives of many people would be positively affected. It’s essential that we recognize that it is the Creator working through us that makes it possible for us to do anything of value that we do, including that which we are able to do to improve the world. It’s also vital to believe that each of us has a calling or callings given to us by the Creator that we need to try to discern.
Through that discernment and our efforts to endeavor to follow each of our individual paths, all of us can make the world better, better for our children and grandchildren now and when they’re adults, better for all of the present generation as well as for future generations.