It Starts with Me.

Some words that I'm thinking about today....

“To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.”

Confucius Oftentimes I feel torn as to where to put my attention when it comes to the injustices of the world. At any given moment in time, there is a multitude to pick from. Take for example the Kony 2012 campaign that has gone viral over the last day or so.. If you haven't yet caught wind of this, I have embedded the video below. After I watched, I felt overwhelming compassion and an intense longing to help the victims of this tragedy. That being said, there is some injustice that occurs everyday which begs for my attention. How do I choose where to look? How do I decide in which direction to project my attention and efforts? There is so much work to do, it is overwhelming to look at the big picture and try to figure out where to start.  But, the truth of the matter is that I know where to start. I can feel it in the depths of my soul. And at first glance, it appears selfish.... It begins within me. I can donate money, or hang signs, or rally, or protest, or write letters to senators, or whatever. This may help to clear up one situation or one misdeed or injustice... which will be promptly replaced with another of similar magnitude. Or worse. This leaves us in a state of perpetual protesting or fighting what is.  The only way to make lasting change is to change the state of the human condition. To raise the level of consciousness on this planet. To wake up, stay awake, and help nudge our neighbors into alertness. This starts with me. It starts with you.  We must pay attention to our modus operandi, our perpetual states of being.  Are we consistently thinking, acting, being from a place of understanding and conditional love for ourselves and those around us? Or do we move through our day judging those we come into contact with?  Are we carefully choosing the thoughts we allow into our heads, letting only those of kindness and peace enter? Or are we letting our thoughts control us?  Are we interacting with people as if they are extensions of ourselves (they are)? Or are we maintaining an illusion of separateness?  These are the questions we must be asking ourselves everyday. This is the work we must do to create lasting change. It's not always easy.  It takes consistent effort. Sometimes we will forget, and remember. Forget and remember. But don't be discouraged by this, because each time we remember, we remember for just a little bit longer. And when finally, remembering becomes our constant state of being. When our hearts are finally set right... this is when our personal lives are cultivated, our families are put in order, followed by the nation, and then the world.  KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

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