changing the world = changing the self
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I once tried to save the world. I used to think that I was responsible for saving the world – because no one else seemed to feel responsible. If nobody was going to save it, who was? And of course, I failed – because the world has obviously not been saved. Perhaps “save” is not the right word. I really wanted to change the world. Change the world to my vision of what a “better” world was like. A world with no war, poverty, hunger, crime, hatred, intolerance, despair, and suffering. You may laugh, because such a world to you seems impossible.
You may think I am just an idealist, a dreamer, that I have my head in the clouds – because I focus on the way things can be, and try to live towards that end. And you may think yourself as more practical, realistic, with your feet firmly on the ground – because you focus on the way things are, and try to live with that. Yet in many ways, I believe we are not so different from each other. For I believe you are as much an idealist and dreamer as me. For you and me, we both want to change the world to our own ideal of it.
Because if you desire anything in your life to be different, that is a desire to change the world. Those who desire more money in their bank account, desire that the world be changed. Those who desire more fame or respect from others, desire that the world be changed. Those who desire different working or living conditions, desire that the world be changed. Those who desire a better relationship with a particular person, desire that the world be changed.
Whatever your own personal desire happens to be, you believe that if the world were changed in one or more specific ways that matched your desires, you would be happier. Nearly every human desire is a desire for things to be different than they are now – to be changed to your idea-l of it. And so it seems that my desire that the world be changed, is not so different from your desire that the world be changed - we only desire it to be changed in different ways. And changed in different degrees, for you desire only a smaller part of the world be changed, whereas I desire a greater part of the world be changed.
And the world can be changed because the world does change – whether we want it to or not. Bank accounts grow and shrink, friends and lovers come and go, and the economy goes up and down. And we change too – our tastes, our habits, our thinking, our bodies. It is inevitable that the world will change. It may not change in the direction of our liking, but it definitely will change. Many people even make their living by identifying, interpreting, and anticipating changes, and by profiting from the opportunities that changes bring. Many companies and industries live or die because of their success or failure in keeping up with change. And every year, a lot of time, energy, and resources are spent into promoting, fighting, preventing, or creating change.
I used to believe that in order to change the world, you had to change people – because people control the world. And if you want to change people’s actions in the world, you had to change their minds – because it is the mind that initiates the actions. But the world hasn’t changed in the direction I wanted it to. I used to get depressed that the world was the way it was, and not the way it could be. And I often felt powerless and frustrated because I thought I couldn’t change anything.
It took me a long time to learn that I can’t directly change the world or other people to match my preferences, even though my preferences include the good of others. And it’s not because it’s impossible to change something so big as the world, and I am so small. It’s impossible simply because I am not the world. The world is the world, and I am me. And as I have the right to choose to be, you have the right to choose to be also, and so does all the world have the right to choose to be. For I possess my own free will, just as every living entity on the earth possesses its own free will. And my will is not necessarily your will, or the will of the world.
This is why it is nearly impossible to change other people, as your own experience probably attests to. You can manipulate, threaten, persuade, cajole, force, beg, or use guilt and bargaining to make other people change, and any of these methods may produce a temporary change in behavior, but not necessarily a permanent, genuine change in the substance of the person. You will have caused another person to do your will, but you will never be able to make another person be one with your will. For in the end, they will always possess their own free will. Real, lasting change in other people only occurs if they will it – not because you will it. And usually such change only occurs if they think it’s in their best interest to change – and not because you think it’s in their best interest. People will only change if they want to, and if they think it’s possible, and if they know how to change.
So the only person you can effectively change with any degree of success is yourself. And this is by no means a small or unimportant task. For you are a part of the world. And as you change yourself, you change a part of the world. For when you do change yourself, you will realize that you no longer need the world to be changed this way or that, or to your vision and ideal of it. You only need to change yourself to your vision and ideal of yourself. Changing yourself gives you the peace to accept the world as it is – and the power to live better with it.
For as you walk the path to the way you wish to be, you discover that what stands in your path, stands in the paths of others also. And you realize that the path is difficult and there are many obstacles, and so you understand why others do not take it. Yet you also realize that the path is easy, for you would not walk any other path but your own – for walking the path of another, or not walking any path at all, are both actually far more difficult. And like any path, it gets easier the more you walk it. And so you realize that changing or saving yourself is your primary responsibility. For just as you would not expect others to be responsible for saving you, so you are not primarily responsible for saving others. Because you respect your own will, you respect the will of others. For your will is all the will that is your right and power to command.
And though it seems small compared to the world, your will is actually a very powerful thing when fully realized. If you can realize your own potential, then you are already a light unto the world. If you can help others realize their own potential, then you have become like a savior. But it is not really you that have saved them, it is they who have saved themselves – for they must do their own work, just as you did your own work. And so it is, that just as it is so difficult to change others, the only one who can easily change you is you, and no one else. And because of all these things, you realize that we are all brothers and sisters, that all of us are equal, and none are higher or lower in this world of life. Because each one of us holds great power and potential because of our wills.
If you ask me now what my goal in life is, it’s still the same - saving the world. But I go about it in an entirely different way than before. I save the world by saving myself (although yes, I must admit, I’m still trying to save the world!). And as I change myself, I change the nature of events for all those who I meet within my life. I change what I give and be. I am by no means a perfect person, but I am a better person than I was when I first started this journey. I still have quite a number of faults, I still make my share of mistakes, and my understanding is still more limited than I would like it to be. But I do not regret this path I have taken, for it has given me nearly all the things of value that I know, and made me all that I am. The fact that I can share anything with you at all, is because I want to save the world, and all that I share, is because of that.
I’m still changing, still becoming, still choosing. The aim may appear to be personal perfection or a perfect world, but I believe now it is not. For I have realized that, as I walk the path, I become the path. In the end, it matters not if you achieve a state of perfection. For if you have grown, you will have changed. And if you have changed, you will have become a new you. A you that is happier with yourself. And you discover that you had the power to do this, and that you did it by yourself. And though it may not be a perfect you, it feels much better and happier than the old you. Can you imagine that - becoming happier? Not because you got a new house, a new car, or a new lover – but because you gained a new you.
And one day, as you are walking your path, you will realize that you don’t have to actually get to where you were going. Because you realize that as you are walking there, you are gradually getting there, closer and closer, every day. And you realize you’re heading in the direction that’s right for you, and you’re happy with yourself that you’ve made it this far, and you feel lucky, grateful, and proud that you got this far. And so even though you’re not there yet, you discover, in some strange way, you are right where you need to be. And because that’s a great place to be, right where you need to be - you’re kind of, already, there.
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