I believe it is safe to say that our world has some pretty big problems. That may very well be the understatement of the year, possibly the decade! We could spend our time today bemoaning the strife, turmoil, corrupt, and the unimaginable cruelty that exists in our world, but at the end of this post what would be any different because of our grumbling? Honestly, the only thing that might be impacted could be our moral psyche. The more focus we place on the bad, the more overshadowed the good in our world becomes.
Throughout history there are countless numbers of men and women, young and not so young that have changed the world for the better. Most likely their original goal in life wasn't to change the world, instead it was more focused on changing the world in which they lived each day. Your center of influence might be a good way to term that area of your life that you have the best opportunity to make a positive difference. Think about Dolly Parton for just a minute, when she was growing up in rural East Tennessee, I'm pretty sure she didn't have her sights set on how she would someday provide a million dollars to support the effort to create a vaccine for a global pandemic. I'm guessing she probably wasn’t contemplating any of the philanthropic endeavors she has orchestrated over her life when she was going to elementary school in Sevier County, Tennessee. If you could have been a fly on the wall of the Parton homestead, I imagine you would have heard young Dolly commenting on how she wanted to help her parents, siblings, and those who lived in and around her. Her scope of support would have been on the elderly neighbor who needed someone to stop by and check in on them. Her daily "work" would have been to learn as much as she could, help as many people as possible, and to choose to do right over wrong when decisions had to be made. We should all want to see the world change for the better. In my own mind I have a warehouse full of things that I'd love to see change in the world. Senseless wars being fought for no clear reason, especially one the that warrants death and destruction such as what we see around the world. Injustice for those with less power and influence, cures for diseases that have disrupted families and killed millions, and for me one of the biggest tragedies that I wish could be changed is the horrendous, pointless attacks on schools and our most precious treasure. The list goes on and on, different to a certain extent for each individual, but overall there is a central theme about how we each would make the world a better place if only we could... I'd like to propose an unconventional method for each of us to change the world, my suggestion is for us to stop trying to change the world and to start working on changing the world in which you live each day.
Mahatma Gandhi is recognized as saying "Be the change that you want to see". That quote is central to the idea of changing the world in which you live. First, you are your world that you live in. Your body, mind, and spirit are a unique world in itself that each of us has the center of influence over the choices we make and the paths we choose to take. You won't change the world outside if you don't first change yourself. Set goals, read good books by positive authors, read the Good Book, turn off the TV, exercise... more, help others instead of helping yourself to whatever you want, and give back because you have been given so much. That's a good place to start, but the world in which you live each day encompasses more than just you. Make a difference with your children, your siblings, your spouse, significant others, parents, friends, and your neighbors. Who's your neighbor? Your neighbor is the driver that cut you off on the highway this morning. Your neighbor is the cashier at the local coffee shop that needs to hear a word of encouragement today. Your neighbor in the world you live in is the homeless woman pushing her cart down the street, in your world your neighbor is the co-worker who is struggling with addiction, or the student's family that is facing eviction and homelessness. Gandhi said "be the change", not be the change today or tomorrow, "be" the change means become someone new, change who you are and be the change in your world today.
In Galatians 6:9 Paul encourages us to, "... not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." In other words, if we change our focus onto how we can help those around us including ourselves, then we should expect to see a difference in the world we live in. If we see a difference in our world then most likely the world of those we impact will be different. If they choose to go out and make a difference in the world in which they live then that impact should change the world around them, and on, and on we go. Ultimately, if we change the world in which we live, the world will be changed. Envision ripples in a pool of water. Modifying Gandhi's challenge, a bit I will conclude with my own declaration, "Be the change in the world in which you live, and that change will impact the world in which we all live!"
Challenge: Today intentionally change something about your world that takes the focus off you and places it on someone else that needs your attention more than you do yourself!
Coach Carter
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