‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference,
try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito’. African proverb.
‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito’. African proverb.
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“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”
― Dalai Lama XIV
Who is that quote really from ? or is it taken out of context.. Not sure who to give it credit to.
The quote is often attributed to the Dalai Lama, however that is incorrect. The original source of the quote is Bruce C. Harris, a world renowned child’s rights activist and alumnus of Up With People. For many years Mr. Harris would make a semi-yearly trip to Denver to give an inspirational speech to the new members of UWP casts. He would incorporate the phrase “If you think the problem is too big for you to make a difference, then you’ve never been in bed with a mosquito” or some variant into each of his UWP speeches. The phrase eventually became well known among the thousands of international UWP alumni community. The advent of social media saw the phrase repeated by alumni, though often unsourced due to Harris falling into momentary disgrace after allegations arose that he sexually abused children in his organization’s care (those allegations have now proven to be unfounded). Attribution to the Dalai Lama probably resulted from his reputation for similarly inspiring messages in conjunction with the increasing popularity of the phrase lacking any other sourcing.
If Bruce C Harris is the original source of this quote, then my uneducated grandfather who was born, bred and died in a tiny West African village must have met him. For this was a quote he always told us in our native language when I was in my teens and I am now 72 years old.
One of us “little people” may not be able to change the world, but a simple act of love and kindness can make the difference in another persons life. By simply holding open a door for an old person, or taking a few minuets to sit and speak with someone who has no others in their lives can simply provide others with hope and show that there are good people on the earth. We can not change the entire world with the snap of a finger, but we can change the world one person at a time through our own example.