When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.
A monk wrote this 900 years ago, his name forever lost to the mists of time. Did we listen? Of course not. All of us have to reinvent the wheel and make our own mistakes rather than listen to and live the wisdom of the sages through the ages.
Youth is indeed often wasted on the young. Most of us don’t get our priorities straight until much later in life. By then, it’s often too late to be the father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister or friend that we could have been. It’s never too late to become what you might be, of course, but the later we awaken, the more regrets we tend to accumulate.
Begin now to live more consciously. Start by watching your thoughts as if they were someone else’s. By doing so, you become a conscious witness to your own life and begin to (more…)
Triumph of the Spirit 