Most of us are familiar with Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” And although his words pack a powerful punch, how many of us are actually being the change? I tend to think of my actions as small and insignificant in comparison to Gandhi, and rightfully so—until now.

Somehow I was added to the email distribution of Change.org, which is the world’s largest petition platform. Holy Cow! I had no idea how unaware I was. Not every petition piques my interest, but there have been a few I happily “signed” that resulted in change! Real change! And I was proud to be a part of something so significant.

This morning I read the story of a Walmart employee who posted a petition on Change.org about Walmarts sales of guns and ammunition in the wake of two devastating mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Southaven, MS. Ultimately, as a result of the petition, the Walmart CEO issued a statement that they will be ending the sales of all handgun ammo, will completely exit the handgun market, and will no longer allow customers to openly carry guns in their stores. As if that wasn’t great enough, Kroger (the 2nd largest grocer behind Walmart) followed suit. 

Maybe I misunderstood Gandhi’s words. I thought I was supposed to do it all by myself.

With Gratitude,
Beth