April 8, 2002
Changing The World
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the
world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my
nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town.
I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and
suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an
impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town.
Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the
world.
Unknown Author
Have you ever felt that there is no solution to a problem? Watching the news coming out of the Middle East has given me great pause to reflect on just how hopeless some situations appear to be. As the violence continues, I keep hoping and praying that a resolution that is acceptable to the world will be brought forth and the loss of innocent life will end.
I located the opening story on Cyber Quotations and remembered reading it many years ago. Although I had not committed it to memory, I have remembered the gist of it when I become overwhelmed by world events. It is so easy for us to forget that we are shaping the future world as we speak…for the good or the bad…one person at a time.
The one part that I disagree with in the story is the implication that it is too late in any life to make a difference. It is never too late to make changes in your own life or never too soon either. The Middle East might be the extreme when it comes to witnessing the result of cruel behavior like prejudice, religious intolerance, and oppression of people on the fringe of society, but those same behaviors exist all around us and may even reside in us in certain circumstances.
Although I might not be able to make an impact on the current Middle East conflict, I am not helpless in shaping the world that I touch each day. When confronted with situations or feelings closer to home, I simple remember the two bumper stickers that read, “What Would Jesus Do?” and “What Would Buddha Do?” and I know what to change inside me if needed and then how to act or feel. I like to think that as in the story above, my actions would teach and change those people whom I touch.
With respect, acceptance, and love,
Richard
©
Richard D. Olson and Awaken The Soul, 2002; Edited by Janice E. Olson