I’ve been thinking. Why is it that on the one hand we are so terrified of change we’ll go to extreme lengths to avoid it, while on the other hand we are told – and tell ourselves – that real, sustainable change is impossible?
These are contradictory beliefs.
I believe all change – including change for the better – is totally possible. But we have to want it and also really sincerely believe it can happen.
Have you ever misplaced a shoe at home? You know it’s somewhere in the house. Maybe the dog hid it under the sofa? Maybe you accidentally kicked it under the bed. Maybe one of the kids ran off with it. But you know it’s there somewhere so you keep on looking until you find it. You truly believe that all the frustration and searching is going to be worthwhile because it simply has to be in the house somewhere.
Social change is the same. It is completely within our control, even if it doesn’t seem that way.
Traditions are man-made and not immutable, no matter what anybody tells us. Traditions and practices can – and must – be changed if they are harming us.
Step one = we have to do whatever it takes to convince ourselves that this change is possible.
Try something. The next time someone says to you – ‘Yeah, I know it’s terrible/wrong/unjust – but that’s just the way things are – you have to accept it.’ Instead of accepting this awful ‘truth’, try this for an answer –
‘No – if we all agree it’s wrong then we don’t have to accept it – we just need to change it.’
Change is possible:) I love this. If the movement for change is clothed with respect and kindness, even more powerful. Thank you for your always thoughtful posts.
Change for the better always is – thank you.
In a world that believed that every human life has a right to exist, it must follow that the right to exist must include a commitment by society to insure the ABILITY to exist, and this must be the overriding consideration for humanity!
This is a very good point – quite a lot of people on the planet definitely lack this right.
The key is figuring out what needs to be done and then do it! 🙂
I think you should try to meet Sugata Mitra while you are on holiday in the UK – I have a feeling you might be on the verge of working out what you’d like to do – just a thought!
Change for the better always is! Thank you.
We DO have to all stand up and work together to make social change for the better.
Exactly
Thanks.
I completely agree with you here! I am not sure what we do to motivate against apathy, but in reality, social change is completely within our grasp. I think we have to care, though, and that’s where I sometimes get disheartened. I am tightly associated with a very socially progressive church that stirs the pot of change in our community, often making things so uncomfortable that I find myself in the “hot seat” with friends and family…but my point is that is sometimes helps to create bonds with other likeminded individuals so that our voices are a bit louder. I LOVE what you stand for! Debra
It always helps to create bonds with likeminded individuals – it’s one of the most powerful forces for change. And as for apathy I wonder if at least some of it comes from a belief that the job is impossible? The task too big? And that we are powerless? God bless social media then, eh!
Thanks for sharing this. We need to keep reminding ourselves that we can make a difference.
You are welcome – I think we really can make a difference – when you think of all the change that has happend in the past and then see the tools we have available to us…I imagine most famous freedom bids would have been a bit different if they had had mobile phones and social media! The thing is at the moment it is largely the bad guys who are using these innovations to connect and organise – this had changed a little since the Arab Spring so hopefully that change will grow and continue as ordinary people ‘organise’ for change. Thanks.
I like the play on words there… the thing with change is that whether we resist or embrace it, it happens anyway. 😉