A few days back as I was rumbling through a used book store, I came upon a coin operated vending machine (see above). Instead of giving out a small toy or bouncy ball, this vending machine handed out poems. I was intrigued, so I fed it my quarter and was rewarded with this classic poem by William Blake:

This poem reminds us, among other things, that cruelty is a man-made invention. We cannot bemoan the condition of our world without first taking a good look at ourselves. Cruelty and jealousy and envy and greed, all have a human face, and often that face is mine. It’s all well and good to point out the injustice in the world around us, so long as we remember that all efforts for justice and goodness and hope begin with me. My job is to change me, that’s how I change the world. We can’t wait for other people to get their act together for the world to be better, that’s not how it works. I start with me, you start with you, and before long the world is a more beautiful place. It’s an amazing thought to know that you can change the world before you even step out of your front door!