We have changed the world!

I was sitting with my grandmother, having our normal discussions about life in general, and updating her on some of the news that was being reported. She started making a comment about this world…at which point I interrupted her, adding to her statement by saying that “the world is changing.” Not missing a beat, she replied, “We are changing the world”

It was such a profound statement, I repeated it over and over. Yes, I think she’s right. It’s not that the world is changing. We really are changing the world. From global warming, to fighting wars, to discrimination, to change and hope we can believe in…we are making all this happen, or not happen. We are the impetus for the change. We are causing the greenhouse effect. We are working to change discrimination so that people of all genders, races, religions, sexualities, and disabilities are able to live a life of enjoyment of their rights as citizens of the world. It is such a simple statement – a refocusing of the words of the sentence. But for me, it brings so much more focus to what is happening in the world. It allows me to realise, as I’m walking my way through the hallways and corners of life that “I am having an effect on the world” I’m not living in a world that is changing of its own accord, and in which I have to constantly adjust my compass so that I can still find my way. Of course, if I live a life on auto-pilot, I'll continue to believe that the world is changing, and its changing me! But I need to take over the wheel...

I am part of the mass of people who are working the changes into the creases on the face of this earth. I can be part of the problem, just as easily as I can be a force towards the solutions for some of our problems in this world. I like that. It makes me walk a little straighter…oh, the wisdom!