There is tension in my being. "Be the change you want to see in the world." I love this idea, its all well and good but.... the rational, logical, action plan forming part of me says its a load of poop. I think it can work on an everyday level- for example you care about the environment- so you recycle. Be the change. When you are disciplining children you talk gently with clarity because you want them to respond to you by not yelling or screaming. You change their behavior by embodying the change you want to see in them. You don't agree with the current education system's method for learning- you encourage your students to blog, text in class, and really actually make them excited about learning. These things work great with the idea of being the change. When we revolutionize ourselves we can make positive changes around us.
But how does this tackle institutional greed, war, genocide, poverty, politics? There are so many things bigger than what we can tackle with simply being the change.
Great post. I'm reminded of your earlier post, where you were wondering what gets you out of bed in the morning . . . what kind of person you are. Let's say, that no matter what you did in life that greed, war, genocide, poverty, etc., remained unchanged. Would that affect the choices you made on a daily basis? However, if you had already chosen the type of person you wanted to be (or were called to be) would it make any difference what resulted from the "change" you lived? It seems to me that you have a decision in front of you: become the person you want to be or are called to be (regardless of the change you effect) or don't (hoping for change that, without your "living" it, will not come anyway).
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