for the longest time, i’ve always looked at everything that was wrong in the world. i would look at someone and say to myself, “they shouldn’t be that way, they shouldn’t act that way, they should be like this and act like this.” but i’ve realized that this is the wrong approach to living a genuinely good life; that this approach was holding me back from growing as person. i spent too much time pointing out and criticizing the “flaws” and “insecurities” of others and not spending enough time correcting my own. and then i read a post from some priest that said:

“just as in the moral life, the most effective way of combating a bad habit is not to concentrate so much on repressing the vice as to form the contrary virtue.” – i forgot where i got this

and how i interpreted this (and it may be completely wrong) was:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Ghandi

if we want our parents to trust us more, we have to be more trustworthy. if we want to have more responsibility, then we have to be more responsible. if we want our loved ones to be more open-minded, then we too have to be open-minded. if i want someone to act a certain way, i have to make sure that i possess that certain characteristic myself.

we have everything we need to change our lives right now; we have our heart and our mind. keep your heart and your mind positive and healthy, and the possibilities are endless. change yourself, change the world. be the change.