Here is the deal… I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while. The way I see it, there are only two truths in this world. Once you learn those, accept those and live by those, everything else will fall into place. I said I would discuss both in this post, but I will only be able to discuss one, otherwise this post runs way too long.
This is not to say that it is an easy decision to make. The truths are not easy to accept, to learn from and implement. In some ways it will be like trying to break an addiction and all the difficult choices one must make to make a change in life. It also means making sometimes minute by minute choices.
Choices
There are some who say once you become an addict there will never change. Many addiction places tell you that you will fail. If you tell people that they will fail, are you really going to be surprised when they do?
Seriously people; we all make choices, to succeed or fail … for that moment. Some times we go weeks without making a choice between an addiction or walking away, sometimes it’s days, other times it is only moment by moment….
It is not easy. Life is not easy. We all make choices all day long. We all battle addictions, and you could argue with me that you don’t have any…. but seriously? What about your addiction to Bejeweled.. “just one more game!” or how about all that spending on things you do not use. Look carefully before you say you are free from addictions.
Be the Change
This is based on “You must be the change you want to see in the world,” Mahatma Gandhi. There is a lot more to this statement than being the change. It is the simple truth of who/what we can actually change.
My first thing I need to realize and accept is what and who I can change. I can not change the weather. I can not change wars. I can not change people I do not know. I can not change people I know.
That sounds strange….
Perhaps it seems like a giving up type statement, yet it is actually one of empowerment. I can not change others. I can change myself. I can change what I do, what I say, how I act, who I spend time with, and where I spend my time.
See, I can not change you. I can do everything in my power to force you to change, but you make choices that are separate from mine. I can change what you see…. I can create the “Paper Heart Adventure” and hope that it touches you. I am changed for creating it.
I can change my income level. Accept the fact that living with an income that just pays the bills means I can not help others. Money is power, power to provide opportunities for others to change.
Poverty is better than wealth?
* Where * do we get this concept?
Look at Bill Gates. Oh yes, he’s a billionaire… let us hate him for that. Seriously, look at all the foundations, funds and grants that Bill Gates has funded with his billions. Would he have been able to fund these organizations without his business skills? Would he have been able to contribute to their lives and provide hundreds, even millions with means that change their lives without that money?
No, it is because he made money he was able to share it with others. Yes, he could have gotten people to fund those organizations (and he has) but his power would not have been as great. So I choose to make more so I can do more. I change my life and create means to help others change their lives.
Even if I were to adopt children (yes, that is something I am considering) my choice to adopt them, provide a life for them, is my change. Hopefully they choose to embrace that change and change their lives. And for any who say, “you are single” uh yes, I waited, I wait no more… one parent is better than no parents. I would have to change my life to provide them with the best opportunities to make their changes.
Perhaps this is where the second choice comes into play, the change I wish to see… yet that is for tomorrow. 🙂
Until then, Be the Change!
MJ Schrader
