When It Feels Like Nothing You Do Matters
A question about powerlessness, and the truth you may have forgotten.
There’s a kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from doing too much…but from a slow, creeping belief that nothing you do really matters. That no matter how much you care, your influence doesn’t reach far enough to change the bigger picture, so why bother trying.
Sure, you have ideas, you may have even tried in vain to affect change. But the results don’t come. So something in you begins to let go. You still care, but not in the same way.
Beneath it, a quiet powerlessness is settling in, and without even realizing it, you start to pull back, numb it, ignore it, even though some part of you knows it’s still there, tapping you on the shoulder, waiting.
What you don’t see, is that this is not the moment you become powerless. It’s the moment you lose sight of what matters.
So I asked Deborah, “Why does it feel like we don’t have any real power to change things...like we’ve become so small in it all?
Here’s what they said:
“There is tremendous love for you here...each and every one of you. While it may sound a bit bizarre, perhaps even backwards, start here. Always look for the love. The love in you, the love around you, and don’t forget the love of heaven. You are never apart from it. In fact, you cannot separate yourself from it.
We understand that at times, humans feel very powerless. Let us reassure you that is not at all true. Your mental eyesight watching all the things happening in the world causes a cacophony of swirling emotions in you. Things that sadden you, that in your mind would be so easy to cure, to change, to ease. You may even think, “someone should do something? But what?” In those moments, you may see yourself as quite small, ineffective, and unable to affect any change.
Yes, you care deeply. Once your mind tells you that you are too small, you’re just one person, the powerlessness is planted. In that space, the power you have becomes harder to see. The steps in front of you feel smaller. The difference you are making can go unrecognized.
Let us gently say that again. You are not powerless. Everything you do makes a difference.
You’ve been taught to believe, “I have to do something really big, very grandiose. I have to do something that causes change on a global level”. You’ve been looking to make a difference in a way that makes it easy to miss where it’s already happening.
Let’s drill it down to its most basic components, and what making a difference actually means.
The most basic component is love and you. That’s it. That is all that is required.
You don’t need to travel, don’t need a lot of money, don’t need others to help you. All that is needed is love and you.
You as an individual are uniquely different. There is no other exactly like you. There has never been, nor will there ever be again, anyone just like you. That means you are not here on this planet by accident. You are meant to be here. Your unique contribution to this planet is yours alone. No one else can do what you can do in the way you do it.
You hold a unique place in this bigger picture. We don’t mean to imply that your place is limited to this global earth. It is not. You affect the entire Universe. Your place is in the Universe, and your influence is very far reaching, no matter how “small” or “insignificant” you believe you are.
Just because you don’t discover a cure for cancer, just because you don’t bring about world peace, just because you haven’t ended world hunger, does not mean that you have no influence.
You have tremendous influence, and it comes from being who you are at the very core of your being.
That is your perfect divine spirit. That is the authentic you, who you truly are. That divine spirit that is the part of you created in God’s image. It’s the part of you that is unconditional love.
We would say to you start where you are. Bear in mind that you are a perfect divine spirit. There is no one else like you and no one else can do what you do in the way you do it. Sharing a smile, sharing a few dollars, sharing a meal, giving of your time, giving of your space, giving of what you have. Giving of yourself, giving of your talents. It all makes a difference.
There is nothing more influential on earth than the giving of love, the sharing of kindness, which comes from love. When you see something happening that displeases you, and it feels like there’s nothing you can do to change it, step back and think again, because you can.
Elevate that situation in love. Hand it over to heaven. Wrap that pure, unadulterated, God given, unconditional love around that situation. You can do it energetically.
There are times you have seen a situation and wanted to reach out in love, but maybe were afraid. You see a child, a woman or a family in pain, and your heart says, “I want to help.”
Start where you are. Pay attention to what you see, and what you feel. Elevate it all to heaven, wrap it in love and know this. No matter what you do, good, bad, even indifferent. It all has a ripple effect.
Even if you feel indifferent, take no action, no small step, it doesn’t become nothing. It becomes silent neutrality, and that too moves outward.
But if you smile, share love and kindness, share gratitude, you cannot stop the energy from creating a wave. Even the small act of thankfulness creates a ripple effect throughout the Universe.
Start where you are, because your influence is more far reaching than you know.
Begin with love and watch it grow. The energy you send out into the Universe will come back to you. It multiplies, and spreads, it is shared again and again as it moves. Never hesitate to share love and kindness.
Sit with your grieving friend who lost her husband. Hug the child whose parents are getting divorced. Listen, be present, and love. Take food to the neighbor too sick to cook for herself. Smile at the lonely one you pass on the street. Say hello! Make eye contact...it all shares love. It propels an energy to the Universe in a wave of love. It makes a difference.
Ask yourself, what can I do to make this world better right here in this place where I stand? What can I do to extend my influence? What can I do to share love? What can I do to create a wave of difference?
Then sit in the silence and listen. The perfect, divine spirit that is you will drop an idea into your head. If you like it, talk more about it! Have a conversation with your perfect spirit. And if you don’t care for the idea, if it doesn’t light you up, ask for another one.
Search until you find what works for you.
Just start where you are. Be the love, be the one who gives. Be the solution. Be the gift.
Look for the good. Look for what is redeemable. Look in every situation for where you can apply love. Under the ugliness, under the chaos, under the suffering is a human heart with a divine spirit just like yours who wants to be encouraged and lifted up. Who wants to feel better about who they are, and their situation. You can influence that very thing.
Yes, open your eyes, but also see with your heart. Open your mind. Look around you.
Opportunities will present themselves. When you affect what is around you, you change all the energy. That positive energy gets transmuted to the Universe, and more change comes from it. The ripple effect is huge. Nothing stops love.
In the divine realm, we are celebrating you. We are singing and applauding. We are rejoicing with you, so proud of you.
It’s a marvelous question. That’s what you can do. Start where you are. Share the love.
We see you. We love you. We are always with you. We are Deborah.”
This isn’t about extending your influence or becoming more impactful. It’s about remembering the influence you’ve always had because of who you are. It has never left you. You’ve always had the power to make a difference.
It doesn’t need to be seen. It doesn’t have to reach millions...even one life touched matters. It’s the kind of influence that comes from being who you are. It’s shared through your presence, and the small actions you take in your corner of the world. You’ve always had it, always affecting something. You simply didn’t recognize it.
That feeling “nothing I do matters” has never been your truth. Everything you do matters. You had just forgotten. Now you remember.