Changing the World Starts Inside Yourself

In a world full of bad news, we may feel overwhelmed by all that needs to be improved. The climate changes, the ocean pollution, the racism, people starving, the migrants, the terrorism, the pandemic…

Good intentions are hard

We feel the need to contribute to change all those things. And the more conscious we are of these problems and that they need to be resolved fast, the more confused and stressed we become.

How can we handle the stress of our good intentions when they are too many?

“I wish I hadn’t become so conscious of everything. Once I wouldn’t have noticed: now every conversation, every encounter with a person seems like crossing a mined field; and why can’t I accept that one’s closest friends at moments stick a knife in, deep, between the ribs?”

― Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook

There is no easy answer, but here are two facts that may help us to see more clearly.

Fact 1: you, alone, will not be able to change everything.

Fact 2: you, alone, can change yourself and, in that way, contribute to change everything.

Changing the world starts in yourself

If you take good care of yourself, your body, mind, and emotions, you will become a better person.

It may seem a small thing, but what you can do to change the world will grow bigger if you begin with the little things.

When you become a better person, calmer, with more respect and compassion for your need and desires, you will feel better and spread more positive energy.

“There are hundreds of paths to enlightenment out there. If we imagine that enlightenment is a mountain and the goal is to reach the top for the grandest viewpoint, we can also acknowledge that there are many routes up the mountain. While some routes might be more direct than others, every route experiences a different side or view of the mountain—or enlightenment.”

― Natasha Potter

Your energy will grow

You will discover that your energy will grow and will become contagious.

You will start to have a more positive impact on others, in the people you talk to every day and even in strangers.

Do you remember that time you felt good just because you helped a stranger on the street? How do you think he felt? Did you notice your positive energy flowing?

This does not mean you are being selfish. On the opposite, it is your way to contribute to a better world. Your part of the positive change.

And does not mean you can’t have active contributions to the causes you think are important. Join any organization or movement you think is positive. But do it because it feels right, not as a way to escape the work you also need to do inside yourself.

Don’t do it motivated by stress and anger. Do it from a place of peace and all your actions will result better.

"Happiness isn't something you win in the lottery. Happiness is a state of being, a conscious choice, just like getting dressed in the morning. You must consciously choose to wear it.”

― Sahara Brouwer

Take care of you - it's good for all

Taking good care of yourself is part of the way to find true awareness, is making a better world.

“Deep within, there is something profoundly known, not consciously, but subconsciously. A quiet truth, that is not a version of something, but an original knowing. What this, absolute, truth [identity] is may be none of our business…but it is there, guiding us along the path of greater becoming; a true awareness.”

― T.F. Hodge, From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph Over Death and Conscious Encounters with "The Divine Presence".