“If we could
change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man
changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.
... We need not wait to see what others do.” -Gandhi
I recently made a
life decision that rocked my world.
Walking from the office where I resigned my steady employment I remember
reaching for the sticky-note and penning the words – be the change you want to see in the world. Without a doubt those words have been
swirling in my mind with flavors of wonder, passion, fear and focus –all in
degrees I have never experienced before.
The financial insecurity of it all is only a symptom, with the root
cause buried deeper in who do I want to be – what is the change that I have to
see in the world –where has it all gone awry?
There is an
injustice in my mind. One that others
could perceive as emotional or angry. It
is really neither. It is in our
inability to bridge the gender gap. The
complexity is too deep and our lenses are too thick. We deal in both what is real and what is
perceived. How do we know the
difference? Is there a difference when
our perceptions are our realities?
Will I be the
change I want to see in the world? I
learned that this saying had been bastardized from the Gandhi quote where this
blog post began. It is arrogant to think
that I can solely make an impact on how the world perceives, reacts or
responds. If there is nothing more we
learn from the devastation of a tornado or the pain of a child’s untimely death
– we are really in control of nothing.
I do however find
comfort in Gandhi’s words – the hope in that I can work on myself and change my
own nature. Some do this as they draw
boundaries in relationships, others do this as they choose to address the plank
in their own eyes rather than the specks in the eyes of others. I find the power rather in taking
responsibility for both my own brokenness and greatness – and that I need not wait to see what others do.
So I am in
pursuit of breaking down the barriers that would ultimately uncover the
truth. Not my truth or your truth – but
that place where we coexist – feeling valued and heard. I need to embrace the truth through your eyes
and divulge my truth. You being man or
woman, employee and entrepreneur, house husband or wife – executive or
individual contributor – one thought at a time…
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