Impact (A True Dove Story)

There are hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of Eurasian Collared-Doves in the United States. They can be found in nearly every state in the country. I suspect you may have seen or heard one at some point (and maybe not even realized it). But what does this have anything to do with anything? So glad you asked! Here’s the story.

In the 1970’s, an enterprising pet store owner in the Bahamas imported and was selling Eurasian Collared-Doves. For some unknown reason, individuals – let’s call them bad actors – decided to rob the pet store where said doves were housed. During the robbery, some of the doves escaped. After the attempted burglary, the pet store owner decided to release the remaining doves – about 50 in all. These birds went on to establish a colony in the Bahamian islands.

Eventually, they migrated to Florida by the 1980’s and quickly spread across most of North America. As a matter of fact, almost every Eurasian Collared-Dove in North America can trace its lineage back to that original group from the Bahamas. Crazy, huh. And a true story.

I’m sure those burglars had no way of knowing a simple robbery would release a species of bird across an entire continent. What an impact.

I certainly have moments where I wonder if anything I’m doing has any sort of impact. We live in a society where instant gratification is the norm. It can be easy to get discouraged and feel like nothing we do matters, especially as it relates to uplifting and embracing our humanity.

But here’s something I’ve learned – all of our kindness, all of our compassion, all of our humanity radiates outward in a way that we don’t always see and has more significant impact than we probably will ever realize. Let’s be honest, we live in what feels like a jaded world where it’s sometimes easier to recede into our shell and simply shut down. That also has an impact.

But the reality is, everything we do has a chance to have monumental impact. It can be a simple idea that catches fire. It can be a kind gesture that changes the trajectory of another human being. It can be an act of humanity that inspires others.

Go release some Eurasian Collared-Doves!

Until next week.

Andy

(All written content created the old-fashioned way.)