This question comes up from time to time, particularly when circumstances seem dim and one feels powerless to have any real impact.
It’s true that there are many things are out of our control. But you have more power than you think to affect change. The question becomes, how can you transmute what seems out of your control into something you can do to contribute towards healing, connection, and service to a greater good?
One answer lies in this truth:
As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm. And vice-versa.
Meaning, what’s happening at the microscopic level (you) is reflected in the global level (the world). And the other way around.
Which means, good news, you have the power to move mountains by moving yourself.
You are much, much more influential than you think, by your sheer existence.
In a group setting, it takes just one person to speak deeply from the heart to open up space for others to do the same. It also takes just one person to assert a flippant remark or joke to shut the group down from having any genuine conversation at all. And a person holding back can cause the rest to hold back. We affect the group by contributing our (often unintended) energy to it. We feel and influence each other more deeply than you may think.
This means that you don’t necessarily have to be concerned with doing something “big” to affect change. And if you are active in a cause, and your attention is more focused on what you’re against rather than what you’re for, then it’s likely that you are inadvertently serving to grow that which you are against.
What you put out, and pay attention to, through thoughts, words, and actions is what gets added to the universal pot that is our society.
Shit soup?
A teacher of mine once said that it doesn’t matter if all the ingredients that went into your pot of soup are fresh, organic, nutrient dense, and prepared with love… if you throw just one teeny tiny piece of poop into it, it’s now “shit soup.” No matter how small a piece it is, the soup is now 💩 and you won’t want to eat it. The best way to affect positive change is to not be that piece of poop. So check in with yourself. That’s the one fundamental action you can take to affect positive change: catch yourself before you throw that pinch of poop into the pot.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
Does what you are about to say elevate? This doesn’t mean everything you say has to be “positive.” It can be bad news. Saying it with care matters.
Does it empower or does it create fear, anger, and division? Putting a person or group down feeds the latter; it feeds helplessness. Pointing to what is working, and drawing on strengths, is not only empowering to the situation, it’s also self-empowering because it reflects and affirms the part of you that is strong, compassionate, accountable, and elevated. And btw, you can be angry about things. There is a lot to be angry (and even fearful) about. Anger and fear harnessed for positive change gives you impetus to realize what you want to see, what you stand for, and to create that in yourself (micro) and in the world (macro).
Do you find yourself responding to others by saying that you’re being realistic? This is a sure-fire indication that you are throwing poop into the pot. Instead, consider asking questions out of genuine curiosity to understand something different from your own points of view.
Also, you are courageous.
Give a little bit of your most genuine self to others when in conversation. I used to be that “good listener” who didn’t share much about herself. A teacher once told me that this was a stingy thing to do. Absolutely, be a good listener. And, share of yourself genuinely. It elevates connection and conversation. It affects positive change. Just be the genuine you, and focus your energy and conversation on what you want to experience and see in the world. Trust that it will ripple out into the global pot.
Love, Savitree
P.S. the Fall Equinox is here! Finding internal balance helps balance the world around you. Join me and my cohort (and sister), Anna SachKiret, for a one hour Fall Equinox check-in (via Zoom) tomorrow, Sunday, September 22, 10 am central time. We will share meditations, recipes, and exercises to help you make the most of the Fall transition. Register here.
Thanks. This "hit the spot" for me today.