A famous quote attributed to Ghandi is “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” There are many different versions of this saying floating around out there, and the original quote is actually closer to a paragraph than a bumper sticker style statement, but the idea deserves revisiting.
With so much going on in the world and the Millennial generation seeking to find their place in it, I find many of my contemporaries asking how they can really bring about change. And, in response to that important question, I fall back on this oldie but goodie. Change in the outer world starts with change in your inner world, followed by confident, conscious representation of that change.
Let me give an example to help explain the steps required to take inner change and reflect it outward into our shared reality. Being that I am a biracial individual who has had a variety of experiences in life that were influenced by that fact and how others felt about it, I will use racism to illustrate this process.
When someone “out there” says or does something that I deem racist, there are several ways that I can respond:
I can ignore them and go about my business.
I can engage in an aggressive manner and return their “gift of racism” in kind by expressing my own anger and judgements about them.
I can use the lens of empathy, see them as myself, and realize that “I’m” being a little ignorant, and most likely just scared of something I don’t understand, and forgive myself for forgetting who I am.
And this is where the whole “revisited” part comes in. How is it that making that internal change can have an outward effect? Shouldn’t you verbally or physically respond, especially in a threatening situation, so as to be true to yourself?
Yes, but the way in which you respond is your choice. Your responsibility. And your peace.
If you want to see a world where people forgive others for the ignorance and actions, then forgive others for their ignorance and actions. They are just being who they are, learning the lessons they are here to learn in their life. And in that moment, the lesson you are there to learn in life may be to witness their actions and “be the peace you seek.”
It is a part of you, after all, that is seeing and judging that outside thing as “racist.” And while I am not advocating that you just let others walk all over you or that societal inequalities not be addressed in the public forum, I am suggesting that during times of meditation and inner reflection, seek out the part of you that identifies that act of racism and judges it as so, and reside there for awhile. Acknowledge the part of you that feels that way, and let its voice be heard. Once proper time has been given and all concerns voiced, forgive the other person for their actions, then forgive yourself for feeling judged or racially attacked. Regardless of whether or not these feelings are justified in a particular situation, taking time to acknowledge and explore them gives space to allow a part of yourself to feel wronged or attacked, and helps you move through them.
Think of it this way. If someone were to see a racially offensive word written, but could not read, they would take no offense because the letters would have no meaning to them. Once you tell them what the word means, thus why they should be offended, it will still be their CHOICE whether or not to be offended.
So returning to the running theme, acknowledging and forgiving yourself for allowing yourself to feel attacked speaks to the more unconscious aspect of changing the world. (We do live in a duality after all.) The only way for there to be an attacker is for there to be someone who is being attacked; in the end, it is the feeling of separation that is what is truly being forgiven.
You may be asking how, exactly, this will bring about change in the outer world. Well, this is where you get into the longer conversations about Energy, Collective Consciousness, and Macro/Micro perspectives, but to keep it short (in bumper sticker style), we can remember that the outer reflects the inner.
We have all responded unconsciously to an outside stimulus. However, regardless of how conscious of it you are, energy follows thought and manifests it outward into the collective reality that we all experience. By consciously changing how you respond in these and other situations, you will be changing the energy that you’re putting into the collective system. Once there are people capable of making a similar change, the entire system will change as well.
So…
If you want to change the world…
...be the peace you seek.