If you are like me you've heard or seen this famous axiom of Mahatma Gandhi's. "Become the change you most wish to see in the world." I have seen this painted on one of the wall's at Capital High School. I've seen it taped to the back of a bathroom stall. I've even seen it painted in huge, beautiful letters at the Mumbai airport. Clearly this message resonates on such a deep, cellular level that it seamlessly crosses cultures, ages and geographic boundaries.
It harkens back to studying the impact the Silk Road's travelers and early entrepreneurs had on each other. From the villages and capitals of Europe came tradesmen and explorers. Persia and the Far East had their own merchants and adventurers as well.
Along with spices, silks, porcelain, tea, rugs, gold, jewels, leather goods and textiles came the non-tangible yet incredibly important sharing of ideas. These included but are not limited to philosophies, languages, customs, religious beliefs and practices, and ideals.
I believe the impact of tangible and non-tangible's are equally valuable in their own right. Just try to trace the true origin of pasta, coffee, tea or communication and you will find yourself on a tale of high adventure.
Just as in days of old, the impact of an idea or the planting of a seed of an idea can touch our lives and leave a lasting imprint. Gandhi's simple yet powerful statement is deeply touching not just because the words are beautiful.
To me, it's because he also exemplified this mantra in his day to day life. Like the saying goes... there is a huge difference between talking your talk and walking your talk. Is it a bar set incredibly high? Yes. Is it beyond our realm of capabilities? No.
I feel that it challenges us (in a good way) to be more than we thought possible. We can move past self-erected barriers of smallness to heights of greatness. I don't necessarily mean that you need to be famous and world-renowned (although you just might be.)
What I'm talking about is the area within you that knows you are part of the change. You no longer feel comfortable staying in the all too common lower energy's of complaining, denial, bemoaning and martyrdom.
To transcend this invisible barrier is profound and life-changing. Shining the light of awareness on a previously darkened corner of our inner self is powerful medicine for self transformation. It was last year when I really began to think about becoming the change. What does this look like? How does this feel? Why do people think it' so hard? What stops us from doing this?
The answer I came up with time and time again was our thinking and our language. If we think something is going to be hard, it is. If we rationalize this difficulty over and over to ourselves and to others we further cement and reinforce the belief. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. As you think, so shall you be.
Simply becoming aware of our thoughts and words is a deep, introspective practice. So, being the experiential learner that I am I did just that. For five days I wrote down my complaints in a journal. Every single complaint that ran through my mind or was verbalized went in the journal.
By the fourth day I was both astonished and bored by my thoughts. By the fifth, I was over myself and ready for change. I literally had no idea I complained as much as I did and made as many excuses as I did. What a waste of energy! I saw with new eyes the difference between "I can't..." and it's truer meaning of "I won't..."
Becoming the change means we become aware of our thoughts, words and actions. Always. All the time.
Are our words, thoughts and actions healing and adding to positive changes in our inner world? Are they nourishing? Do we feel better? Are we kinder and gentler with ourselves as we navigate life's changes? Are we kinder and gentler with others?
If you want more love from others are you even loving towards yourself? If not, this would be a beautiful place to start. When we fill our inner well with what we feel is missing in our lives we no longer seek it outside of ourselves.
Want more appreciation? Try writing down five to ten things you appreciate about yourself. Do you want others to really hear what you have to say? Write down your thoughts on what is most important to you.
Choose one of those thoughts to focus on. What is one small action step that is completely do-able that you could take to be your own cheerleader? Turn the listening ear to yourself first. Always.
This shift in perspective is the key to unlocking the door of our own happiness. We begin to see the door has never been locked. It's been open the whole time. Only now we notice it. What are the changes you most wish to see? How can you begin to see with different eyes? Have the courage to become the change. You are worth it!
Cheering You On!
Joanna
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