Month: October 2018

I am fascinated by people who seem to be unlikely candidates to lead and enact tremendous social change. Despite their background, economic status, lack of influence or political connections they were able to make a lasting and deep impact on our world. I think of people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela – there are more I could name, but I think you get the point. I refer to them as the unicorns of humanity because it seems like they are quite rare as compared to society as a whole. I started thinking about it and the fact that we consider people like this rare only serves to make us feel that we don’t have what it takes to contribute something of that nature to the world. The view of them as “special” can serve to make us feel the opposite of what their individual causes were meant to inspire. It can create in us a sense of complacency about our part in any larger context of the world and allow us to sit by hoping that someone more capable, ready and prepared is on the task. The truth is that we all have the ability to enact change. We all have our own important part to play. We can cultivate our individual role in service to the greater good by choosing to become interested in the best of humanity instead of the worst of humanity. Everything from the programming we watch to the conversations we indulge in can make a difference. Are you interested in building people up or tearing people down? Does it matter if they share your views or vote the way you do? Does that make them less human or worthy of compassion, understanding and love? These are important questions. Because how we do anything is how we do everything. We are either willing to let love and compassion be our guiding principle in each and every interaction, or we are leading with judgement, cynicism and contempt. The idea that there is a middle ground is really not true.

The point of discussing this is to not get frazzled and anxiety ridden about what we are supposed to be doing or how we can possibly effect change when we are faced with such daunting global issues. The point is to realize that our attention, interest, reactions and interactions with each person we encounter makes a difference. Are we more interested in justifying our hatred or cultivating connection? When we start to change the way we connect with the world around us, our focus shifts and we see light, love and forgiveness in places we never thought possible. When we live from this place we don’t have to worry about what our part is or how we can help. The presence that we bring to each moment and each person we connect with will light the path for us. This isn’t hard, but it is different. It involves much more flow and allowing and less push energy and trying to make things happen. It also involves an honest inventory of our own behavior and mental positions. The result will be the ability for us to disagree on issues and hold opposing views without losing our common humanity.