Be The Change

Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." In times like this, his message seems extremely urgent. But how can we truly be the change our world needs?

While our outer choices are critical, our inner lives are too. In fact, how we act is a direct result of what we think and feel. Our thoughts and feelings are seeds which flower into actions. You can observe this flow for yourself, in your own life.  

And, to boot, our thoughts and emotions are phenomena too. They’re more subtle than other events, but they nonetheless influence the world like our actions do. Thoughts and emotions form an energetic ground from which the world we see takes shape. 

It’s for this reason that Gandhi’s recipe for change can’t be baked without having a conscious inner life. It’s the oven! In the heated world of our hearts we create the future our children, and their children, will experience. 

Gandhi’s words can’t be taken separately from inner life, from spiritual life.

‘Hold on!’ You might say. ‘Don’t talk to me about that!’ 

But I don’t necessarily mean going to a church or temple or singing Hare Krishna. I simply mean finding a way to engage with your biggest self—that which lies beyond who you’ve taken yourself to be, beyond the small sense of ‘I.’ Not just to have a glimpse, but to come to live in that bigger self more of the time. Maybe all of the time. 

It’s there in our bigger self that we find our innate love and compassion, and the kindness that comes naturally from them. New seeds that grow into new flowers. It’s there that our awareness expands and we witness our pettiness, our hatred, fear and greed. Like weeds, we can pull them more easily—before they pull us—and cause us to harm others, or ourselves. With awareness and love we can make the world we want to live in. 

Meditation and devotional practice have played crucial roles in introducing me to my bigger self. How about you? How are you being the change you wish to see in the world?

Let me know in the comments below.

If you liked reading this and would like to read more, subscribe to my blog below and have a beautiful day. 🙏 

Love,

Noah

#gandhi #bethechange #meditate