Peaceful Change?

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”-Gandhi

This is a quote that really speaks to me, especially in today’s world where we see so many people complaining about other people, complaining about the government, talking about things they wish to change in others, in society, in the world. I myself was one of them until I read this quote. I realized there was no point getting angry or irritated with others on account of various things that, from my point of view, felt wrong. When I get irritated with somebody about certain habits of theirs, like say, impatience or laziness or anger, I realize that I myself am being impatient and angry with them. This quote made me question myself: What kind of a role model am I? Do I walk my talk? When I complain about the roads being so dirty and worry about environmental pollution and corruption and whatnot, do I make sure that I don’t litter the roads when I go out? Do I take care to reduce or even stop using plastics or save water or save fuel? Am I honest in my dealings with others? This quote made me stop and take a real good look at myself, at the judgments I pass on others. Because of this, I feel that today I save a lot of my energy. Instead of wasting it on trying to change others way of thinking and being, I just focus that energy on myself. I figured that if I be the change I want to see in the world, then maybe people around me will be forced to think and change just by looking at me and being around me. One thing that is very important to me, in the light of all the conflict that I see and hear around me, is peace. So I figured if I want to spread peace, the solution may not lie in an aggressive approach by fighting and arguing for peace, but rather in being peaceful myself, so that at least my little corner of the world, my home, my family, will be a haven of peace. So even if cannot change the world, at least I would have made it a better place for those around me!