Be That Change

An interesting quote comes from Ghandi, a modest man who believed in peaceable action for things he believed in. He says "Be the change you wish you see in the world." I've heard this quote a lot over the years, but recently it has shown up in my life a lot. I've had multiple people write it in my yearbook, I've had it be one of the clues on a scavenger hunt, it was the theme of this past school year, it's been everywhere. Again, I didn't think much of it, in my mind I'd think that's neat, but I'd quickly move on. Over the past few days I've had a lot of time to ponder this quote and why it has shown up in my life now. With school out I don't have the responsibilities and other burdens I normally carry. I haven't really been doing anything. So as I started thinking about the quote more and more I decided it had to have a point.

I have to be the change. I have to decide what I want from this world.

I think a lot of us have the attitude of "someone else will do it" or "I don't have to do it because someone else will take care of it." There have been a lot of studies done on this type of thing. If someone was to be beaten up and only one person was there to witness it, that one person is more likely to do something about that assault than a whole crowd of people. If there was a whole crowd witnessing the attack it is unlikely that even ONE person would call to get the police involved. There's the attitude . . . "Someone else will call the police, so I don't have to" or "It's not my problem, why should I have to deal with it?" I can guarantee that if it was you being attacked, you'd want someone to come and help you. So what if the police station got a hundred phone calls about the same attack? At least that person would be helped! We should all have an active outlook on life. Where can I help someone today? Who needs my help?

I'm going to be the change I want to see in the world. I want to see acceptance and kindness, love and compassion towards others. I'm going to be one of the people not being afraid to stand up to a bully in school, taking a stand for the weak and pushed down. We're brothers and sisters, and we should look out for each other. I'm going to be someone that people can rely on and trust. If I want people to trust others, what do I have to do? Be trustworthy myself. If I want the world to care about others, what do I have to do? Care for others myself. It's not easy. But people DO notice what you are doing. Be an example! Be a leader for good and light. Be that change.

-A little bird