"Make Yourself a Blessing to Someone..."

Here is a quote I found in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II (p. 98):

"Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge."

--Carmelia Elliot

Recently, after each of my studnets recited Emily Dickinson's poem "If I can stop one heart from breaking," I would ask him/her why the poet used "one" instead of "a(n)" throughout the poem. Students would take it as a difficult question, but in fact, it is very easy. They might find some hint in the following quote from the same book:

"Little deeds of kindness, little words of love, help to make Earth happy."

--Julia Carney