True, lasting change can only ever come through love. Love from within. We sometimes forget this when we are triggered by something in the outer world we perceive as wrong or unfair. In our anger or fear, we may have the impulse to try to fix it or get what we believe to be justice, either for ourselves or those we see as victims. We do still need mechanisms in society to hold people accountable for their actions. But we can’t legislate people into expanding their consciousness. Those changes must ultimately come from within.
There are many who are stepping forward to protest injustice or inequity and are making their voices heard on many issues. It is wonderful when people want to participate in creating positive change. But how we go about creating that change is as important as the actual results themselves. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luter King, Jr. made this point eloquently:
You have very little morally persuasive power with people who can feel your underlying contempt.
When we use our power to create change by coming from anger and blame, the very people we want to enlist in that change often become defensive and angry themselves. It is like throwing gasoline on the flames of conflict. When we approach issues on the attack, we are coming from divisiveness and separation which just fuels more divisiveness and separation.
When we focus on common ground and hold the intention for change to benefit all in the long run, we see far more movement. This is why the truly great visionaries for societal change preached peaceful, non-violent action. Their intention was to take effective action using education and understanding, not to seek punishment or revenge. This takes courage, patience and love. It may not create instant results in the outer world (and the lower self does crave instant results), but once the tidal wave of change gains momentum, that change is powerful and lasting because a tipping point has been reached in the collective consciousness, not just in the minds of a few.
These leaders in change understood that we must hold a vision of love for all involved, including ourselves, in order to create true change. To do that, the change must start within. We must be willing to make the changes we’re asking others to make by modeling that vision in the outer world. Another visionary of change, Mahatma Ghandi, put it this way:
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.*
This should be our starting point for any issue we see mirrored in the outer world. We must first look within to understand what the matching vibration within ourselves is trying to teach us. Then, in humility and surrender, we can follow guidance whether to continue working on the issue within, share our insights with others, or take action steps in the outer world. Once we’ve started healing the issue within ourselves, we are now holding that higher frequency for the benefit of everyone. This is what creates true, lasting change and that divine power lies within each of us.
*This quote has been repeated many times, and I’ve since come to learn that it is actually not a direct quote but a powerful paraphrasing of Ghandi’s meaning. I share it here in its paraphrased form because it is true to his original intent and is in alignment with divine truth.
For further exploration of these concepts, I recommend Divine Justice: Healing through Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness by Marsha Hankins
Image by PopcornSusanN from Pixabay