You can’t feed every starving mouth. But can you feed one mouth, one meal?

You can’t give away all of your money. But can you give away one penny?

You can’t abstain for another ten days. But can you abstain for another ten minutes?

You can’t write every beautiful sentence. But can you write just a few?

You can’t solve every problem. But can you solve one problem?

* * *

We sometimes say, “I can’t do anything,” when what we really mean is, “Since I can’t do everything, I won’t do anything.”

But doing everything is never the expectation; it’s impossible.

There is often an answer between the extremes.

The way forward is in finding what we can do — all the way to its edge. In identifying what’s possible and then doing it.