As many of us here at Docudharma try to find ways to change the trajectory of our system both outside and inside the political system, we often run into roadblocks that get in our way of feeling successful. What can we do on a daily basis to create the kind of radical change we’re looking for?
I think one of the things that gets in the way of a truly progressive movement is that we keep thinking we have to change everything that’s wrong with the world. That usually means we get stuck with having to change what others are doing. Sometimes we can have an impact on that, but its an uphill battle for sure. And when others aren’t interested in changing, we feel frustrated. Mahatma Gandhi, on the other hand, challenged us to “be the change we want to see in the world.” I believe that’s where our power lies…in ourselves.
Another thing that I think gets in our way is that we can feel small and powerless to actually have any impact. We get trapped into feeling like we can’t alter the course of history with our small efforts and then get immobilized to do anything at all. That’s why I added another of Gandhi’s quotes as my sig line. I need a constant reminder that:
Almost everything you do will seem insignificant, but it is important that you do it.
Finally, I think that we often get impatient. And its understandable why. There are lives in the balance. But if we look at history, we learn that the kind of change that we need now takes time. That’s not a call to complacency, but to sustained efforts with patience. I think that’s what Ruben Alvez was trying to say in this quote about hope:
So, let us plant dates, even though we who plant them will never eat them. We must live by the love of what we will never see.
This is the secret of discipline. Such disciplined love is what has given saints, revolutionaries, and martyrs the courage to die for the future they envision; they make their own bodies the seed of their highest hope.