Does it Need Powerful People to Change the World?

I don't often look at the media stories, but over the last week I've been monitoring it, as research for a radio interview.

When I look at the natural disasters in Burma and China and read about the terrorism, crimes and disease, I can't help wondering what would happen if we stopped meddling with nature and just allowed it to naturally unfold.

What would the world look like if governments didn't impose themselves on the people or each other? If America hadn't been threatened Burma for the last 7 years, perhaps the Burmese government would be more willing to accept a helping hand and be less suspicious of infiltration, or invasion, disguised as a helping hand.

Also, what if rivers didn't have pollution pumped into them? If the air was respected, plants and trees honoured and cared for rather than just harvested? What if the ground wasn't pumped with harmful insecticides and fertilizers? The list goes on...

A few years ago, overwhelmed with so many things I disagreed with in the world I began CommunitySoul. I wanted an alternative to the negativity in the media, because I knew that for every story of conflict there was one of unity.

I'd become tired of commercialism. It had encouraged me to eat poorly and gain weight. It advertised things that encouraged me to do harm and preyed on my weaknesses.

At the time when I was mulling over what I'd do someone said to me, "Yeah, Neil but we can't change the world single handedly." Of course my friend was right, we can't.

But his words made frustration rise up in me and made me want to do anything I could. What I did was this...

I immediately assumed responsibility for the part of the world I control. I created this newsletter which reaches several thousand people. I often hear back from readers who want to express gratitude for something the newsletter helped them with. These people may be into politics, teaching, therapy, or just caring for their kids. But that news thought I helped create, helps others and so it ripples outwards to many more.

On one level, that feeling of overwhelm I felt; that yearning for change I wanted to see in the world, created change in others I hadn't anticipated. Closer to home, I stopped buying from the supermarkets each week. I learned to grow my own food and now only buy from supermarkets once a quarter. When we need to top up we use a local farm shops where ever possible - it's a small contribution to reducing our impact and keeping more of our money circulating around the local economy.

With my partner, Jo, we set up business networking groups that promote local trading and have the theme of ethics, sustainability and well-being running through them and more recently I've just got involved in looking at bringing the Transition Town ideas to the area I live in.

I reduced the use of my car, often walking or using my bike. When I travel by car into nearby Cities, I try to go there for the day and meet as many people as I can while I'm there, sometimes staying for as long as 15 hours to maximise my time. I view fuel as a luxury the environment can't handle and I want to minimise the damage. At our business groups we encourage car sharing to help this issue too.

I'm not claiming what I have done is worthwhile by any means. I'm not saying it's right or cleaver. What I am saying is that through the choices we make, we make an impact in changing the world for the better, because we are changing the part of it we control.

A few days ago I was hungry. I'd been out since 6.30am and attended three meetings before noon. I was starving and entered a corner shop. I didn't find one item in that shop that wasn't wrapped in plastic or processed and the only fruit I saw was a variety of apple I knew to be GM and bananas that weren't fair trade. Nothing in that shop matched my values and, despite being ravenous, I declined to buy. As a result of that decision I spared a landfill more waste it couldn't degrade, my body junk it would struggle to process and made a statement about GM and non-fair trade to the purchasing department of that shop. Next time I'm out like that, I'll plan better!

Going back to the question at the top of this article: Does it need powerful people to change the world? I'm not sure it does. What it needs is individual people who ask themselves good questions whenever they are faced with the important issues.

Right now, the changes I make at home can't help the situation in Burma. That said what I'm focussed on is that if me and you and enough people like us begin to make conscious decisions about what we do individually, then the collective mass increases and that can't help but affect other people and have a positive impact on them too.

In the long run this mass change in consciousness can't help but bring about a change in consciousness at government level and that will then impact things across the world that once upon a time were beyond our reach.

What would you most like to change in the world now? What decisions can you make now? Who do you know who would like to read this article? Forward it to them and suggest they join our readership and we'll send them our our life transformation tips as a gift www.communitysoul.co.uk

At CommunitySoul we've created several tools to help you speed up your changes. We can help you become more purposeful, set goals or work with you one-2-one. Click here to find out more...

With love and best wishes

Neil

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