“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.”
~Gandhi
For many years I’d longed to see a world other than the one I was experiencing. My world at times was full of struggle, stress, overwhelm, over compensating, over achieving, etc. This was a pattern I was well aware of and had worked for years to try to shift… not very successfully. My addiction to achievement had a strong hold on me.
I “knew” intellectually that the way I experienced the world wasn’t going to change until I made that great shift on the inside. In my head, I had it all figured out. In theory, I knew how it all worked.
Yet, in reality, I was still stuck in past patterns that didn’t serve me in the highest possible way. I’d make a change for a little while and then slip back into my old ways of being. It was downright frustrating because I knew better, but yet things weren’t better on the inside.
I’ve always loved the above quote from Gandhi as well as a shorter interpretation that is credited to him as well, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” But, how in the world could I actually DO that. How could I be the change I wished to be in the world?
As I pondered this question and increased my level of conscious awareness… little by little I began to notice – in reality – what I’d known in theory. more I opened my heart to others, the more love was showered upon me. The more authentic I was with others, the more real and honest they were with me. The more I cared about and served my tribe, the more abundance flowed. The more I stopped to smell the roses, the more roses I saw.
It took a lot of conscious effort to “be the change I wished to see.” And it required an extra dose of diligence (and dedication) to be that change when things felt like it was crumbling around me. But in those times – especially – were when I noticed how quickly the change happened. When it appeared I had the least to be grateful for, the more I practiced sincere appreciation and gratitude, I truly became flooded with more to be grateful for.
I’ve been fortunate to be blessed to know two incredible singer/songwriters. Tiamo (who I’ve known for a few years) and Bob Sima (who I just met recently). Both of these incredibly gifts souls wrote songs called Be The Change. I’ve been listening to them both a lot lately and they continue to help drive this practice home for me.
I hope in sharing a little about my experience in being the change, it inspires you to be the change YOU wish to see in the world. If you want to see love, bring love. If you want to see peace, bring peace. If you want to see healing, bring your own healed self.
Life is a miracle in each and every moment. Open to see the miracles. Accept the joyous gift and responsibility of knowing that how you live your life IS how you BE the change you wish to see in the world.
It’s a blessing to be on this transformational journey with you as we co-create a new world together.
