The day I rediscovered Mother Teresa's words "We can do no great things-only small things, with great love," the so-called war on terror had just cranked up after 9-11, and the administration was attempting to dignify the call to violence with rhetoric so over the top it abrogated divine authority-Operation Infinite Justice, for example. What a grounded, utterly human antidote her words were. And what a relief! Instead of waking each morning and defining myself as an impotent war protester, I started waking up and thinking, "Okay. What small thing can I do today with love?"
Mother's advice gave me permission to do stuff like play with my kids and go fishing again. I actually live her advice when I fish. No joke. On big Montana trout rivers, you often see fly fishers trying to do great things by fishing heroically, making great long casts out into the giant flow as if they're thinking Operation Infinite Trout! But we can do no great things. So those of us who like to actually catch trout scarcely glance at the vast flow. Instead we parse the river, slicing off a tiny ribbon known as a feeding lane, where you target a single trout repeatedly rising. In huge western rivers, three or four hundred feet across, I'm talking about a ribbon six inches in width. Yet this ribbon, believe me, is where all the rising trout get hooked.
A fly-fisherly strategy for those who yearn to make a difference: Every morning, look for "ribbons." One small thing you sense could be done with full-on attentiveness and love. And after you finish it, look for another. Ad infinitum.
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