Change within for a greater impact
Spiritual understanding is attained through the right life experiences and vice-versa. This virtuous cycle of self-discovery starts with a genuine intention to grow into the better version of ourselves. It is a conscious search for moments of presence and inside peace. Therefore, let’s have a closer look at a short spiritual message about “change" which I found along my travels. I hope it will inspire you as it did for me and help your inner-self on its spiritual path.
“If you want to change the world,
first try to improve and bring
about change within yourself.
That will help change your family.
From there it just gets bigger and bigger.
Everything we do has some effect, some impact."
His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama
In this short message, Dalai Lama shares his wisdom about how to make a difference in our life, starting with ourselves. He tells us to take a closer look within. Improving does not mean achieving more success. Instead, it means to free ourselves from identifying too much with our expectations, material achievements, our social status and own ideals. He invites us to shift our attention towards our sense of being by asking ourselves who we really are. Do we notice what moments bring us peace? What impact do our good and bad habits have? How is the quality of our thought patterns? These are a few of the many questions that make us discover an entire new universe of change and self-improvement in ourselves. In this space, we will develop a sensibility towards consciousness, emotions, mind and body. Soon enough, we end up realising what connects us to the world in our own special way.
Taking a step towards listening to ourselves and bringing the right changes will reveal our beauty to the world. More importantly, we gain a capacity to listen to others. Instead of fighting our reality so that it meets our expectations, we find an acceptance for what is given to us. This is key. It frees a great amount of energy in us that can be directed towards the right things. Suddenly, it feels easier to be ourselves.
Dalai Lama mentions that our self-development will eventually help our family, meaning everyone we keep close to us, to see the way we see. They change not because we want them to but because we inspire change. The more we emanate peace and balance, the more people will feel safe around us. The more we are true to ourselves, the more people will be drawn to us. The more positive energies (compassion, creativity, joy, etc.) we unleash from inside towards the outside, the more people will follow us. Our family starts to grow. Therefore, the greater our self-improvement the greater our impact.
