NOMAD AND BLAWGER RAAM DEV
A littles something to think about from the fine and mighty fine blawg of the young nomad and skilled writer and minimalist/philosopher Raam Dev. . .
Do you think Einstein was thinking about the impact he would have on science when he was coming up with the theory of relativity? Do you think Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Theresa woke up every morning and thought about how much people would talk about them after they were gone?
They believed in what they were doing and they refused to give up. They refused to back down in the face of adversity and they resolved to continue if not even a single person joined them. They weren’t concerned with changing the world. They were only concerned with being the change itself.
Every human that has ever lived was just that: human. They were no different than you or me. Their potential wasn’t any greater than ours. In fact, with so much knowledge and technology at our disposal, we have more potential today than any famous person who has ever lived on Earth.
The world is full of potential changemakers. They’re everywhere. Almost seven billion of us at last count. For those of us who take advantage of the opportunity that’s available to us, the world will change in response to our actions.
We may only be able to change our small world. The history books might not remember our names. The only thing we might be able to change is ourselves. We might only leave a positive impact on the lives of those around us. What’s important to remember though is that’s enough.
Each of us is like a tiny raindrop. We might only make a little ripple in the sea of time, but collectively our ripples become waves of change. The size of the ripple isn’t important, but it must be consistent. It must be relentless.
All great changemakers recognized that they could only do so much, but that what they could do should be done with great passion, dedication, and fearlessness.
You don’t need to be a genius. You don’t need to be born into royalty. You don’t need to be surrounded with perfect circumstances. The power to make a difference — the power to be powerful — is in your hands. The only person holding you back is you.
Live your life the way you’d like to see the waves build. Initiate movement. Lead the flow. Shake the system. Challenge the status quo. Make a ripple. Make a ruckus. It’s up to you now.
Paul, this is a great piece. Thanks for calling our attention to it. I couldn’t think of this passage from Sirach:
Sirach 44:1-15
Hymn in Honour of Our Ancestors *
44Let us now sing the praises of famous men,
our ancestors in their generations.
2 The Lord apportioned to them* great glory,
his majesty from the beginning.
3 There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,
and made a name for themselves by their valour;
those who gave counsel because they were intelligent;
those who spoke in prophetic oracles;
4 those who led the people by their counsels
and by their knowledge of the people’s lore;
they were wise in their words of instruction;
5 those who composed musical tunes,
or put verses in writing;
6 rich men endowed with resources,
living peacefully in their homes—
7 all these were honoured in their generations,
and were the pride of their times.
8 Some of them have left behind a name,
so that others declare their praise.
9 But of others there is no memory;
they have perished as though they had never existed;
they have become as though they had never been born,
they and their children after them.
10 But these also were godly men,
whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
11 their wealth will remain with their descendants,
and their inheritance with their children’s children.*
12 Their descendants stand by the covenants;
their children also, for their sake.
13 Their offspring will continue for ever,
and their glory will never be blotted out.
14 Their bodies are buried in peace,
but their name lives on generation after generation.
15 The assembly declares* their wisdom,
and the congregation proclaims their praise.
Yes, Raam has quite an interesting story and is a good writer. Thanks for the wonderful Sirach reference, Fred. Lots of great stuff in the apochryphal books that I want to read sometime. I noticed Alyce referenced some of the Wisdom stuff in them in something of hers I read the other day.