"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places -- and there are so many -- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory." -
by Howard Zinn
Later on, I read something that summed the above up in on simple beautiful line:
If the type of person you wish existed doesn't, then that is who you must become. - I wrote this for you.
I felt stirred. I shared this belief too. If you think the world needs more compassion, sacrifice, courage & kindness, if you think the world can be a better place, the best place to start is with yourself. Most of the time, we feel like just one person can't make a difference. But even the tiniest of raindrops can create ripples that grow into mighty waves. To echo Michael Jackson in Man In the Mirror,
If you want to be make the world a better place,
Then look at yourself and make a change.
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