Butterflies and Mahatma Gandhi

Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi.

What a great mantra for 2015! Be the change you wish to see in the world. Not do the change – BE the change.

Is it possible for one person’s attitude, one person’s “be-ingness” to affect the world?

Yes, I believe it is.

For me, I would like the world to be a kinder, less violent place. I would like to live in a world where people smile more than they frown, where they listen more than they talk, and where they care for one another.

These are big, ambitious, and some would say unrealistic, desires. How in the world can I, as one lone person, make this a kinder, gentler planet?

By starting with myself; by being the change I wish to see.

We know from our work together that thoughts and feelings are energy, and that energy is in motion. Thoughts travel from one person to the next, to the next, to the next. In quantum physics it’s called the butterfly effect. It’s a metaphor often used to describe how the smallest of motions, like a butterfly batting its wings, can have a much larger affect on a distant part of the same complex system. (see Chaos Theory and Edward Lorenz https://www.exploratorium.edu/complexity/CompLexicon/lorenz.html)

My thoughts travel out as energy into the world. These small vibrations of thought can have a much larger impact elsewhere on the earth. Just like the butterfly flapping its wings, my simple thoughts of peace, contentment and my wish for a kinder, gentler planet ripple throughout the world. As I interact with people in my community and beyond, I send out waves of kind and gentle energy that others can feel, and interact with. And as my friends are surrounded by kind and gentle energies, they too send out waves of kindness and gentleness to others – and the ripple grows wider and wider.

Think how the world would be if more and more of us lived by Gandhi’s words.

My desire for 2015 is to be the change I wish to see. What about you?

In a few short weeks (February 8th to be exact) the book, Tame Your Inner Critic Find Peace & Contentment to Live Your Life On Purpose will be released. Here’s the link if you wish to pre-order.