Gandhi's famous quote said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world".
Setting examples of living well through your own behavior, is the beginning of the change you wish to see. The world changes, when people change. And like the ripple effect of a stone dropped in a calm pond, your change ripples outward from you, and touches everything in your world.
Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter, John Mayer, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mayer, had a hit years back with the song, "Waiting on the World to Change".
If you wait for the world to change, will it? Yes. Will the changes be what you hope for? Maybe. But if you wait, are you a part of the change you wish to see?
This reminds me of a conversation I was privy to a few years ago at a Christmas party. The group was discussing the state of American politics. A woman, whom I didn't know, was really bashing a politician. A gentleman asked the woman doing the bashing, if she had voted for that politician. The woman's response was "No, I don't vote." The gentleman said to her, "Then you have no voice in this conversation". I thought it a bit harsh, but true. If you don't vote, you can't complain.
Reminds me of the pandemic. If you don't get vaccinated and you get sick, you can't complain. Same goes for the environment, and how we interact with the plants, animals, and insects we share this planet with. If you want to help the planet, then make small changes at home. Check out ways to save water, use less energy, learn about going green, shop locally. I've written other blogs about helping the planet, you can check them out. If you see something you don't like, do something about it! Say something about it! Be someone about it! Doing nothing, changes nothing.
Everyone is responsible for the ripple effect of their own behavior, choices, and words. An easy way to help make big changes in the world, is to look at the words used in conversations. If the words are negative, then everything connected with those words is usually negative. And the negative ripple effect just keeps going on, and on, like the Energizer Bunny. But once you become aware of, and recognize the negative words being used, your mind will actually pause, giving you a split second to reflect on, and change the course of the conversation. Be a change in the world, by being mindful of negative speak from others, and yourself.
When a person decides to make changes in their lives, it requires them to commit to the path it will take for those changes to be enacted. Like losing weight for example. You don't get up and say, "I am going to lose weight.", and then do nothing to lose the weight. You can't think, talk, or hope the weight away. You have to make a commitment to losing the weight., and stick to the changes or the weight will come back. This goes for all changes in the world. We can't hope, think, or talk things we don't like into changing. Making changes requires action. And changing thinking is a good place to start. Thinking differently, equals acting differently.
Life is the journey. And life is constantly changing. Some of the changes we have control over. Some changes we have influence over. Other changes, we have no control, or influence over. When we have no control, or influence over a situation, like the weather, then going with the flow of life is the best bet. When we resist the changing flow life has us in, we cause ourselves to suffer. The situation its self may be horrific at the time, but when we flow with life, we change with life. Usually for the better.