BE THE CHANGE

I had a little epiphany at Steve's yoga class Wednesday.  Well, first, let me say he did this really cool thing where he wove a poem into our practice.  Every so often, while we held a pose, he'd recite (from memory!) a stanza from The King's Ring, a poem about impermanence.  I'll copy and paste it below for you.

So anyway, he also quoted Gandhi at one point -- the famous "You must be the change you want to see in the world".  I always find that admonishment a bit jarring.  My brain immediately conjures up a greatness I can't quite imagine myself being.

Like Gandhi's many hunger strikes that led to the eventual overthrow of English rule.  I'm sorry.  I can pledge to go on a cleansing fast in the morning and by 3:00 p.m. I'm lightheaded, sort of nauseated, and binging on Triscuits dipped in butter.

Or Martin Luther King and his March on Washington that moved the Civil Rights Movement into the public consciousness so profoundly.  The only dream I could speechify is the one where I forgot to study for the final exam and I show up unprepared -- and naked.

Last night at the Democratic National Convention Hillary Clinton accepted the nomination of the first woman ever to be the nominee of a major political party in the U.S.  She said in her speech that when she was four years old her mom made her go back outside and face the bullies who were taunting her because no cowards lived in their house.  Whoa.  I was about the same age when a strange man came to our door (strange to me, but maybe someone known to my mother, but unwelcome), and I remember hiding with her in the bedroom until he went away.  I handle conflict about that well today.  So you see, I've never thought of myself as any kind of example for "being the change".

Yet, here's the power of meditation and yoga and paying attention (and, OK, therapy) -- I really AM an agent for change!  The idea behind the quote, of course, is that in a million small ways we each can be the change we want to see.  I want everyone to grow veggies and flowers -- tasty and beautiful.  So  I finally planted a garden.  I want everyone to do the inner work it takes to understand themselves and their motivations, so I've immersed myself in a couple of decades of personal growth work and helped others on the path.  I want aging to be a natural, beautiful, joyful process with older people feeling good about themselves, healthy, vital, and giving.  So I facilitated a group for women over 60 and I practice yoga and love my family and cherish my friends and practice mindfulness.  I want a world where optimism, ingenuity, kindness, humility, and generosity are how human life is lived.  So ... well ... I try for all those things; it's a practice.

Does any of this matter?  Well, The King's Ring might lead us to believe that in the big picture, in the Cosmic, Giant Universe way, everything "passes away" and our life's pursuits are ultimately of little consequence, so don't get too attached.  Still, we live.  We contribute one way or the other. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.  I say, let's live like the beautiful beings we are while we're walking this earth....and be the change today. ©

Namaste,  donnajurene

The King's Ring by Theodore Tilton

The Sexton's Tale, And Other Poems.
Copyright 1867
Sheldon And Company, New York.