Change Your Thoughts-Change Your Life Part 14 of 20: Living as If Your LIfe Makes a Difference
April 16, 2009 by dr. lam
The 54th Verse:
Whoever is planted in the Tao
will not be rooted up.
Whoever embraces the Tao
will not slip away.
Generations honor generations endlessly.
Cultivated in the self, virtue is realized;
cultivated in the family, virtue overflows;
cultivated in the community, virtue increases;
cultivated in the state, virtue abounds.
The Tao is everywhere;
it has become everything.
To truly see it, see it as it is.
In a person, see it as a person;
in a family, see it as a family;
in a country, see it as a country;
in a world, see it as a world.
How do I know this is true?
By looking inside myself
We oftentimes think that we are an insignificant piece to the universe. That our actions have no radiating effect on those around us. But we are part of the fabric of the universe, and our words, thoughts, and actions can either have a dramatically positive effect on those around us or be an agent for destruction for everyone that should come into our proximity. Knowing and acknowledging our infinite nature rather than any tangible finite qualities allows us to tap into that universal spirit and energy. These blogs are a way for me to touch hundreds if not thousands of people across the universe. Your responses how ever trivial you may imagine them to be (which they are definitely not) are a way for you to make a magnanimous gesture of creating ripples of positive energy to that same audience.
Martin Luther King changed the world. Gandhi changed the world. Churchill changed the world. But so did Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Khan. If we look at ourselves as a finite mass of flesh, we will never be able to surmount that constricted Weltanschauung. Dyer quotes the anthropologist Margaret Mead as saying, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
We are capable of making change and making that change for one person at a time. We are capable of making a difference. When I go to work, each person and each patient that I encounter I look at as an opportunity to be a change agent for good in their life. I look at the chance to make a positive impact, to heal, to lift up, to bring peace, to bring love, and to bring a beautiful, shining light. If we start to tap into our universal energy, we will then be able to be a change agent for good because we will live every moment of our life doing so. Today go out and radiate all those good things and make a difference in all those who are fortunate to come into contact with you.
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6 Responses to “Change Your Thoughts-Change Your Life Part 14 of 20: Living as If Your LIfe Makes a Difference”
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I think thinking of one’s life as significant gives someone a greater sense of purpose. Very good point! You are so right that we all are part of the fabric of the universe and that we can make a difference, and it’s good to keep that in mind.
Yikes, Dr. Lam, you mean the world is reading my comments?..lol
Hey, Dr. Lam, thanks for changing the world for the better. You are awesome!!
well, we are all changing the world for the better. thanks for being part of this journey!
Hi. I have long loved this quote from David Elton Trueblood, 20th century Quaker/theologian:
“A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit. ”
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Goes well with your thoughts and this 54th verse.
I think of his words with gratitude, especially when I drive down a street, the types in very old neighborhoods with towering, gorgeous trees beneficent person/people planted long before us.
that is a beautiful quote. thanks for sharing. i love the positive community we have established!
I have to admit, for a long time I thought that poor little me can’t really make a difference, but when I actually took some time to analyze this thought, I realized that part of it was rooted in self-depreciation, part of it was simple laziness, and part of it was thinking that it had to be something really big that I did. Well, now I notice the small day-to-day things that I do that make a difference to someone else, sometimes the difference is small and sometimes bigger, and sometimes even quite big:) – and it often really doesn’t take much at all – simply listening, lending a hand or an encouraging smile are at times all that is needed.
I also admit though that I did develop a desire to try something a little “bigger” and I’ll be off to Uganda in June for some volunteer work. I’m hoping to also make a small difference there!
thanks for sharing vancouver. best wishes in uganda. i’m sure you will make a wonderful difference.
namaste!