Be the Change.
We should always consider how we can change.
Be the Change.
Yesterday, we discussed a quote by Mahatma Ghandi via RJ Palacio’s 365 Days of Wonder which states “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” What a profound quote during a time in United States history where nothing here on Earth seems certain. We discussed that one of the ways we can be that change is to be civil to one another and try our best to respect others by focusing on the changes we make within ourselves. One student spoke to the point:
We cannot change the world, however if we change ourselves, that change can influence others and bring about world change. If we are more introspective, then we enable ourselves to grab from an experience or set of experiences that we’ve had and utilize that to change something.
Interestingly, today’s quote was by Soren Kierkegaard and was very much in tandem with the previously mentioned quote by Mahatma Ghandi. The quote states: “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” This quote sheds light on the fact that we have all had experiences that situate us in the world. Our very existence today may be based upon something we did yesterday, learned yesterday or experienced yesterday. For example, if I had the experience of pain associated with not stretching before and after working out, that experience helps me to understand what I should or should not do moving forward. The pain or misunderstanding or issue of the past, when reflected upon, has the power to guide my future actions.
So…if I want to see change in the world, I have to first be that change, insisting that an introspective, reflective, interpretive look at past events will aid in my change, so that I do not repeat the results of the past. As we continue to embrace things in life that we may have no control over, one thing is certain. We do have control over ourselves and whether or not we stay the same or we change. I don’t think the way I thought 5 years ago, or even 5 months ago. The cognitive dissonance I knew has shifted by way of experiences, lessons, realizations and learning. How will you be the change? What will you do differently?