There are so many things I want to share with you that I don’t even know where to begin. The world is both decidedly different and the same as it ever was.
We struggle to “see the change” without being willing to “make a change”. Sure, we have had our first black president and our first female vice president – has it changed our world for the better? We still tend to vote party lines, not quality of life.
There will never be a ‘perfect’ resolution. We are so focused on the things of ‘this world’ that we forget we aren’t a part of it. We are just travelers passing through. This planet we call ‘home’ is only a temporary stopping point. We cry out to “save the planet” for the future. We are still making that same cry: has the planet changed for the better?
There is nothing new in what we are doing, it is circular. Until we look toward the heavens from which comes our true help, until we are willing to fall on our knees in humility and understanding that we are fragile. That our lives are fragile, and this is why TODAY is the most important day of our lives. We aren’t promised tomorrow. The change we are ‘working to make in the future’ should be things we are doing today.
BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE. Today.
Stop throwing out the rhetoric of sayings and slogans. What is the step you are taking today? What have you changed today? What are you wiling to do today? Anything? Nothing? Thinking about how to do it?
Today you may come into contact with people, animals, things. How will what you are doing, saying, acting, or reacting going to make a positive impact in those lives? When you look into the mirror are you being kind to yourself? Are you creating change in the way you respect yourself?
Will you be able to look back on today with fondness, knowing that you made an effort to make a difference? Will others be able to say positive things about how you were in their lives? If you only had today to live, would you show kindness to others? Would you remain standoffish and distance? Would you be critical – or uplifting?
We like to say ‘live today as if it were your last,” yet we don’t actually do it. Saying something and doing something are definitely two different things. As we all know, it really is ‘easier said than done.’
We are good at putting it off on someone else.
I came up with the idea – so you should do it. I came up with this idea for YOU. This is how YOU can be effective. Sometimes, you need to implement your ideas yourself. No one else is going to do it. Great motivational speakers can’t make the changes for you. They can speak about it. They can show an example, as most of them ARE successful in their own lives and have proven it can be done. They did it, so you can too. Can you?
Listening to someone else talk and getting hyped about it is great – if you follow through. Which means acting immediately on making some form of change in your life. I can say I am going to do this or that all day. I can complain about my weight (which I do) but if I make zero effort to change something in my life, nothing will change. My diet. My exercise plans. Getting up out of my chair and moving around. Eating healthier. Eating earlier, etc. The things that will work for me… if I do nothing then NOTHING is going to change.
Hearing the words and reacting to them are NOT the same. Listening and agreeing is not the same as acting upon it. I can agree all day, that doesn’t mean I am going to change.
If you want to change the world, start with you
Ha! We want to change the world, we want to see change in the world, we just don’t want to be the ones to do it. It is easier to have someone else do it. Even better if someone else is already doing it – then we have an excuse as to why we don’t need to. We aren’t needed, someone else is fulfilling the job. Guess what! You bring something special to the world that no one else can offer.
You are unique. You are different. You may think like others do in some respects. You may share the same values, morals, religious beliefs, or disbeliefs. You may have a lot in common with others, yet you are special. The way you handle yourself. The way you treat others. That is all YOU. The way you feel in your heart and your creativity. You.
You, my dear friend, are a unicorn. So, shine. Do something for change today. Pick up a piece of trash off the street or the side of the road. Help some one who is struggling. Look in the mirror and recognize both your flaws and your beauty. Internal beauty will outlast anything else. People who are beautiful on the outside, are not always beautiful on the inside. People who are beautiful on the inside – are ALWAYS beautiful.
Write a poem. Write a story. Write a blog post. Write a song. Make a podcast. Draw an image, a person, a place, a thing. Play a game. Share the wonder of the universe with others. Congratulate someone on their success. Lift the spirits of someone who is down. Share your beauty.
The opportunities for change are endless. The opportunities to create a better world today that will last into tomorrow are here. Today. Stop bringing up flaws. Don’t try to take someone ‘down a notch’. Be willing to listen. Not just listen but hear what others have to say. Take it on board, consider it. It doesn’t mean you need to change your own way of thinking to theirs. You just need to be willing to think about it.
Don’t always take things at face value. Don’t always do something because someone else said it was the ‘thing to do’ or ‘it’s the way to think’. Know why you are doing it. Understand your own motivations. Question yourself. Question others. Stand up for your beliefs. Share your values. Have a moral compass. Be compassionate. Today.