I copied a quote from one of the books and I'm including it here because I found it inspirational. I love the idea that small acts of kindness make a difference in the world. It also fits in with the Spark philosophy that small steps can change your life.
We seem to read or hear about one tragedy after another these days, from earthquakes to oil spills to terrorist bombers, and there isn't a lot we can do about any of them. But we can be responsible for our own behavior. We can change our lives one act at a time, and we can make a difference in the world.
From "The Good Husband of Zebra Drive"
"The world, Mma Ramotswe believed, was composed of big things and small things. The big things were written large, and one could not but be aware of them –wars, oppression, the familiar theft by the rich and the strong of those simple things that the poor needed, those scraps which would make their life more bearable; this happened, and could make even the reading of a newspaper an exercise in sorrow. There were all those unkindnesses, palpable, daily, so easily avoidable; but one could not think just of those, thought Mma Ramotswe, or one would spend one’s time in tears—and the unkindnesses would continue. So the small things came into their own: small acts of helping others, if one could; small ways of making one’s own life better: acts of love, acts of tea, acts of laughter. Clever people might laugh at such simplicity, but, she asked herself, what was their own solution?"
-- From Book 8 of the "No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency" series by Alexander McCall Smith.
I don't have a link to the rest of the book. They are available at the library, or book stores, or by ordering on line.
