Courage to Change

Having the courage to change is both easier and harder than one might expect of something so powerful. The human race is unique in the animal kingdom to have so much power over one's own destiny, not only as a specie, but also as individuals. Each one of us has the power to change a great portion of our individual lives. We do it so easily, sometimes, that we often take it for granted. Yet, when we come up to an obstacle, whether from external oppression, or from internal psychological trauma, we are struck by the feeling of powerlessness, and yearn for the freedom again.

Knowing the difference between what we can and cannot change is a real blessing, because the knowledge frees us from wasting time and energy, not to mention heartache, on things we cannot change, and focus our efforts on making real changes with a much better return on investment. The power to change is also cumulative, so that each successful achievement helps to make the next change possible, and more easily accomplished. The wisdom to know the difference between what we can change, and what we cannot change is a great blessing, and King Solomon was wise to ask for that first of all.

Once we know what we can change, which usually is about ourselves, because no matter how powerful we are, no one can change another person. We can only change ourselves, and how we react to what other people do. The courage we need, is to stand up to people who intimidate, to situations that leave us vulnerable - like being left alone, to circumstances that are frightening - like being left alone in front of a hostile crowd. The courage to be true to oneself in spite of the world is the ultimate valor.

M. Scott Peck wrote in his book, "A World Waiting to Be Born", that our will is like an animal in the backyard - a strong will person is like having a team of Clydesdale horses ready to take on any task, while a weak will person is like having a little dockey, quiet and not causing any trouble. A strong and willful person may get a lot done, but can also cause a lot of destruction if not properly directed, while a weak and obedient person may not cause much trouble or none at all, there is little hope of any significant accomplishment. The key is for the strong will to be willing to submit to a Higher Power, which gives direction, stability, and continuity to make individual lives fit within the bigger picture. The courage to change is to first have the courage to submit one's own willfulness to an unknown, and perhaps unknowable (at least completely), unseen Higher Power. It is much easier to let our own selfish will to take over, and destroy anything and everything against our wishes, but much more difficult, to rein in the undiscipline will, and to serve a Higher Power, and finally in doing so, we have Triumph of the Will.

What the Nazi propaganda machine had done so successfully in the past was to twist little half-truths to suit their own agenda. It took real courage for many in Germany at the time to stand up against a tide of violence, sometimes giving up their own lives in the process. It is never easy to decide what can be changed, and what cannot. Sometimes, what one person cannot change, a multitude can wield miracles. The power of Satyagraha is the coherent force of truth that brings together people from diverse background and beliefs, and drove the most powerful nation from India after centuries of oppressive colonial rule. The power of Satyagraha is the irresistable force that finally drove underground the balant racial arrogrance of a people blessed, yet oppressed all others before them, so that a semblence of racial equality and not slavery is the accepted norm today. Until each and every heart has the courage to change, to choose wisely between the two sides of the Solzehnytsen Line, to live a life of truth and light and love, utopia is but a romantic notion that is a distant dream. Yet, when the easy power to change is found in each and every heart, the courage to bring utopia to reality is as easy as threading a camel through the eye of a needle.