How to Become the Change You Want to See in the World – by Abdul Rahim Keeley
Most of us are familiar with the famous saying of the great peace activist Mahatma Gandhi that tells us, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” With all of the wars and strife that we are currently involved in, it is easy to want change. The question is then, how do we become that change? Spiritual traditions remind us that only a heart at peace can bring peace to the world. However, many people today feel frustrated, fearful, or despondent about our current state of affairs. As paradoxical as it may sound, acknowledging our anger, sadness, or fear about what is happening in the world is the first step to becoming a force for peaceful change.
In fact, not enough people are allowing themselves to feel upset about what we are going through. It is too easy to ignore our upset feelings, dissociate, or allow ourselves to be distracted from facing the conditions of the world. Upset emotions are simply our opinions about what is happening. They are the connection between our hearts and the events of our lives. Too often, upset emotions are seen as character flaws or problems that need to be fixed. The key is in acknowledging our upset emotions, without letting them run us into taking actions based on these feelings.
When we acknowledge our emotions, we are able to see exactly what about a given situation is upsetting us. They literally point like fingers to the aspect of the situation that is most weighing on our hearts, and show us specifically what we are upset about. Each of us is unique. What upsets me about a situation may make no sense to you, and what upsets you may seem inconsequential to me. Interestingly enough, it is what upsets us about a particular situation that we ultimately have the power to make a difference with.
We can pretend to be separate, or act like we are apart from what is happening in the world around us, but the truth is that we are all in this together. We each have a part to play. Although different aspects of a situation may upset each of us, we will all have one thing in common. We will be upset because we consciously or unconsciously believe that these upsetting circumstances have negative implications for us.
For example, the current escalation of tension between the US and Iran has many people concerned that we are headed for another situation like the one we are involved in with Iraq. What upsets them about this situation, is that our leadership seems to have learned very little from past mistakes. This is upsetting because they believe this means we are headed for another disaster. As long as we believe we are headed for another disaster, we remain part of the paradigm of struggle, and our hearts cannot truly contribute to a peaceful solution. Many people are working very hard to make change, while unconsciously engaged in unsupporting beliefs. They are trying to do the work of peace from a heart that believes we are headed for disaster.
Adversity introduces us to ourselves. This means that when we are willing to face what upsets us about the events of our lives, we can become aware of the ways in which we are unconsciously a part of what we are struggling with. The negative implications we believe upsetting situations represent reveal the things we must change within ourselves in order to be force for peace.
The most challenging part of becoming the change we want to see, is acknowledging if we are upset by circumstances. We must first do our personal work of returning to a state of balance before our actions will lead to real and lasting peace. This means we must stop and face what is upsetting us about a situation in order to become conscious of the unsupportive conclusions we are buying into. When we become aware of the negative effects these beliefs have on our hearts and our ability to act in a peaceful way, a door opens. We are now able to put down the beliefs that do not lead to peace and open our hearts to our Highest Source of inspiration for guidance and support. I refer to this as getting a spiritual second opinion. We admit that what we believe this situation means does not lead to peace or wholeness, and begin listening instead to the Divine. By remaining open to this guidance, we are able to receive the support and insight that allows us to respond to our upsetting circumstances in a balanced way.
In this way we are lifted out of the paradigm of struggle into one of peace and harmony by the support and guidance of the Divine. It is said that no one reaches a state of peace through his or her own efforts; rather it is a gift of grace. If we look at all of the greatest peace activists, we will see that each of them relied on their faith to carry them through difficult times. The work of bringing peace to the world begins with caring for our own hearts when they feel trapped or hurt by the events of life. As Mother Theresa said, it is a sacred responsibility to care for ourselves, because you never know when the world is going to need you.
To find out more about Spiritual healing go to http://liveruh.com/ to read additional articles or download the first chapter of James Keeley’s book on Spiritual healing for free. James offers many workshops and lectures throughout the Frederick area on achieving Health, Happiness, and Fulfillment through Spiritual Healing. Visit the website above for a complete calendar of events.