What If We Acted?

A great revolution in just one single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a society and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind. ~Daisaku Ikeda


What if it was my responsibility to change the world? What if it was yours? What if that little voice we continually ignore, the one that tries to nudge us into action, the one we drown with the drone of the TV, the one we squeeze out with incessant business, was, if we only listen to it, inching us toward our destiny and that destiny would start a revolution that changed the world?

This is absurd you say. It's too far fetched. I'm just one person. I'm a nobody in the grand scheme of life. To this I say, Mother Teresa was just one, just one tiny woman who acted on the whisper from the quiet voice and changed the life of the downtrodden, the marginalized, the forgotten, the despised. She was one unimposing woman who loved her way to a Nobel Peace Prize because she refused to stifle the quiet voice urging her to help the unloved.

It all begins with one. The power of one person standing steadfast as the tanks of tyranny roll in. One person to share an idea so radical it seems absurd. One person to lend a helping hand to someone in need.  One person with the courage to listen to that subtle little voice and take action. Just one person sacrificing personal comfort is all that is needed to start a revolution.

It has happened many times in history, many times the need was there, history was ripe for revolution and someone acted despite fear, someone risked their comfortable life, someone stood up to be counted while others were silent. And, once that person stood up, like minded individuals, one by one, joined in and the revolution, sparked by one brave individual spread like wildfire to change the face of the world.

Perhaps we are the next Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King. Perhaps you are the next Mandela, Churchill, Che Guevara, or Mother Theresa. Perhaps we are the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or John Lennon.

Perhaps, if we mustered the courage and acted on this quiet voice nagging at our conscience we would not change the world directly but our child, our grandchild, someone inspired by our action, encouraged by our bravery, became the next Malcom X or Dalai Lama or Desmond Tutu, our offspring would be the one to start a world changing revolution.

What if it was our responsibility to change the world and we let the responsibility slip through our fingers because we wasted our time watching TV? What is the world missing because we are not acting upon the quiet voice urging us to use our unique gifts for the benefit of all?