What do you want to fix the world? Excellent… but what if you start by improving the little world that you are yourself?
The human being has in his very nature a permanent dissatisfaction that impels him to always want more, and in that wanting more he will also aspire the same to be as to have more. Human history as well as the personal history of each person is a sample of this.
The hippie movement was a countercultural movement of the 60's started in the United States, it was characterized by rebelling by the status quo of the society in which it was and which it denounced as false and hypocritical, its intentions were destined to change the system consumerist of his time. He did not succeed but he did leave us some good things such as respect for nature that has evolved into an environmentalist spirit today.
What is interesting about this movement is the coherence of its members: it is true that they sought to change the world but first it was they who changed. Their way of dressing, eating, living was radically changed and then they were looking for a change in the world.
On one occasion I was invited to listen to a very famous troubadour whose songs in a certain way reviled capitalism and current consumerism. At the end of the evening, I asked my companions if they believed if that person used airplanes, cars, stereos, lived at home with microwave ovens, television and air conditioning (knowing that we all knew his life as a public figure), when they answered that yes I told them "well he has to go incognito because the anti-capitalist is nowhere to be seen… except his songs."
What is this all about? It is much easier to pretend to fix the world before even starting to fix ourselves, and do you know why? Because in reality we do not intend to fix the world but rather to adjust it to our way of thinking. There is a very wise phrase that, referring to this, says that "it is preferable to put on some shoes rather than try to carpet everyone." That is, it is easier for one to change than for everyone to be as one wants, is it logical, right?
But not everything is wrong in that feeling to change the world because it tells us a lot about ourselves: our fears, our illusions, our desires, our needs, and that itself can be channeled for the better.
For example, I think we all want a world without crime, right? And that's fine, but before we want the world to be without crime, let's start living honestly and legally. When we reject corruption, we respect the laws, when we live according to that legality, that is when then we have "the full voice" by then and only then do we pretend to fight for the other at a higher level.
Every time something in the world bothers you, every time you want to change society, every time you want everyone to be different, first go to yourself to see if you meet those standards that you expect in others. What do you want to fix the world? Excellent… but what if you start by improving the little world that you are yourself?
