“Be the change you wish to see in the world” - Gandhi It is a fascinating and inviolable certainty of this world:
What you give tends to be what you get.
If you are smart, and you are smart otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this, you may come to the following conclusion:
If you get what you give it would be a good idea to give what you want to receive.
It works at the most basic level: If you want more hugs, give more hugs. If you want happier people around you, be more happy. If you want more love, give more love.
But it even works at a more subtle and abstract level.
If you want more understanding, give more understanding.
If you want more honesty, be more honest.
More clarity? Be clearer.
More patience and tolerance and mutual respect? Be all of that.
It’s the coolest thing once you see it. Loving, open, happy people have a whole world that is loving and open and happy. They attract very similar people. Scared and anxious people tend to create events and people that make them scared and anxious, giving them more reason to be scared and anxious.
Now: If you find yourself pointing the finger at people and insisting that they are more x, y or z, for whatever reason, it's an excellent sign you need to look at yourself.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. That single act, bringing the focus of change to within yourself changes more than you can possibly imagine. It all starts with you.
Ever tried to actually change someone? In fact, do you realise you try and change all your loved ones? Stop, its futile. People dig their heels in deep when they feel someone is trying to change them. But they do respond to a) openness and b) change in others. It all points back to you.
But don’t take my word for it, do it. Even if you disagree, try it. Prove me (and Gandhi) wrong by putting your money where your mouth is.
Save the world starting with yourself. You are the one person you can change. Might as well get going.