Be The Change You Seek

​Paul Choelho Lyricist and Author of such great books as The Alchemist wrote the following - "The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion."

There are plenty of opinions floating around out there now including my own, about what is happening, who is responsible and how everything should be playing out.

Are our civil rights and our freedom being taken from us by our governments? Our workplaces are being restructured and we may lose our jobs if we haven't already.

People's right to move around freely and go about their lives has greatly changed.

Turbulent times such as we are presently living through, push all of our buttons on some level. My buttons are being thoroughly pushed on many levels forcing me to dig deep into my soul,

seeking answers as to why I feel sadness, anger, fear and frustration about what is happening in my own backyard and in the world at large. The longer and deeper I look, I find that my angst comes from old wounds and unresolved issues,

which until now have lain dormant in the depths of the unchartered waters of my psyche and soul.

I have found myself raging against the machine and sharing my opinions on Facebook and in other quarters, only to find they ignited more of the same ugliness that I am trying to shed myself of, not the best way to deal with my own sad stuff, so I've decided to stay silent

I asked myself, "What could I do to shed light on the darkness that is rising up from within me?" After much soul searching and deep contemplation, I have come to the realisation that the world doesn't need another opinion about how it should be conducting it's business.

What it needs is for me to take care of my own business. Hold myself accountable and responsible for my own thoughts, feelings and actions in regard to how I playout my life and how that impacts upon others and the world I live in.

I've decided to leave well enough alone and see how it plays out instead of injecting myself into a situation which may or may not make it better or worse. I'll be the observer.

First rule of thumb...Do no harm. Check out my intentions before I act or speak. If I am being pinged by something, I best check in with myself as to the core issues before I do harm to myself or someone else by acting on it.

This doesn't mean that I do nothing about anything. Quite the opposite. To bring about change I must first clear myself of what resides in my dark places so that when I do act or speak I am doing so from a clear and present place of being, not dredging something from my past or projecting fear about my future, and

without my unresolved issues attached to my words. Until I can say with all certainty that I have achieved this I will stay silent.

We are all part of an unknown bigger picture. We all have a huge effect on each other and the all that is.

I choose to Be The Change I Seek. If I desire change in the world then I have to start with myself. Clean up my own back yard, which has a way to go so I'll be kept busy for a lifetime or two, which makes my souls journey all the more exciting and challenging, but I'm up for it.

As I renovate my interior I am finding treasures that I had long forgotten and wisdom that can only come from being brutally honest with myself.

Remember that love heals all wounds. It's challenging to feel love and forgiveness for something or someone who we feel has hurt us so badly.

We believe we are angry and hurt by someone else but the truth of the matter is that we are most angry at ourselves for not being stronger, wiser, listening to our insides and loving ourselves.

We often feel are not lovable or worthy of kindness and compassion, constantly living in our woundedness. Whatever story we tell ourselves we must ask is it serving us to change, heal and grow.

The antidote to feeling wounded is to remember that we chose to be here, and we knew what we were coming to, having chosen this lifetime for our learning and enlightenment and it would be such a waste of a few decades of times

if we couldn't find a higher meaning for everything that happens or allow ourselves to have empathy and forgiveness for ourselves and each other.

We must be the change we seek. Trying to change other people to believe what we believe in is as futile as asking the wind not to blow. We only change our way of life when our mind, body and soul are all on the same page and our consciousness has expanded enough to consider that change is the only way forward.

So be the change you seek. Lead by example. Don't grizzle about a situation or a person. That does nothing but aggravate the situation and makes you part of the problem. Step up and become part of the solution.

I'll finish with the wisdom of another wise soul -

“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.” Nelson Mandela

I wish you much love and light.

Olwynne