“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

This statement has remained with me, rung in my ears, floated in my mind, stuck to my soul more than perhaps any other thought projected into the world.  Despite this declaration being most frequently attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, that is not definitely known (as even a five-minute internet search will show and is researched and written about here); however, the source of it doesn’t concern me.  And, a more concretely cited quote from Gandhi, speaks with even more relevancy to me anyway:

“The best propaganda is not pamphleteering, but for each one of us to try to live the life we would have the world live.”
(Gandhi’s Experiments With Truth: Essential Writings By And About Mahatma Gandhi, Richard L. Johnson, p. 106)

I have never been persuasive, not a convincing orator.  Nor am I an innovator, creating grand ways to change the world.  But, I have never felt right when the days and moments in my life, the every day of living, have clashed with my values.  And, oh am I a dreamer.  An idealist.  I wanted my being, my existence, my living – every action, every decision – to reflect my values.  My ideals.  Ideals.  The ideal.  I want more than just the change, I want the end product of that: the ideal.

We bring existence into being with our actions.  And when our actions align with our values…

So, live the life you would have the world live. Don’t just be it, live it.

Live the ideal.