“Practice not causing harm to anyone-yourself or others-and every day, do what you can to be helpful.”
I am not one who normally comments on the ongoings of the world, I usually reflect on them internally while silently taking in the reactions of others. Lately however, with all the hate and violence going on it’s hard to stay quiet. I’m scared, I’m sad, I’m hopeless. I hate to admit that I feel hopeless but sometimes it’s the truth. I simply do not understand how we can have so much anger in us that we need to cause harm to others, and ultimately ourselves, over and over again. Even worse, the reaction sometimes seems to entice more hate and judgement. Deep down I know that hopelessness is not the answer. If everyone who felt hopeless decided that what they do or feel does not matter to the world as a whole, we will always remain in the same current state. And while we may not all be able to start a revolution, we can do something. As Pema talks about in The Places That Scare You, we can start by causing less harm and creating more love, both for others and ourselves. When we start loving ourselves more it is easier to share the love with others. Small acts of kindness can start a ripple effect and though may seem small, at times like these it can be the change we need. Opening the door for someone, smiling and saying good morning to a stranger, not judging others. Every good deed, small gesture, positive vibe put back into the world will make the human race, the human spirit better. This is why it's more important than ever to put aside the hopeless feelings. We need to pay attention to the good things and the good people we encounter in our day to day life's; for if we always focus on the bad the light of the world will continue to fade away.
As Gandhi so famously said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”. What can we be doing for ourselves and for others that can ignite a positive change in our world today?