Could we change the World?

By Karla Mundo

"We have been Homo sapiens for a long time. Now it is time to become Homo conscious."

(Thich Nath Han)

I read that a monk in 1000A.D came to the self-realization that his ideal of changing the world had a different approach as he acquired wisdom throughout the years. He realized that by changing himself, he could have an impact on his family, then on his town, and eventually on the nation that could ultimately change the world.

The story of the monk, like the story of Gandhi, which focused on the concept of being the change we want to see in the world, seems very practical and simple. If we don’t want hate, we have to start loving; If we don’t want egotism, we have to start sharing; if we don’t want loneliness, we have to connect with others; If we don’t want enemies, we have to start making friends with our neighbors, classmates, coworkers, and subsequently with the entire world.

When I hear people rejecting the homeless in my very affluent community of Orange County California, I understand why homelessness has been the same or worse for the past 20 years. I ask myself, what will Jesus or Mother Teresa of Calcutta do?  Without a doubt, they will love unconditionally.

Mother Teresa, who seldom had time for interviews, was asked by wealthy people, how they could help; besides the obvious of making a monetary donation. She would respond, go and love your family. She often talked about the biggest poverty in the world being the feeling of not being loved. For love is the difference between forgiveness and revenge, rejection or acceptance. With her example of loving all the sick and unwanted in the streets of Calcutta, Mother Teresa gave us the solution of how to truly assist those in need.

I believe that if the 8 billion people on the planet were to deeply love their families to the point of teaching them to love others, and to love our Earth, we would achieve one of the greatest contributions to our humanity.

The many acts of violence through history (war after war, conquering nations, invasions, crusades, colonization’s, genocides, holocaust, assassination of non-violent leaders) could have been avoided, if the perpetuators of such crimes had fewer personal ambitions for power and more respect for life and all humans.

My husband and I have been changing the world by choosing to raise our son multicultural and multilingual. We decided to educate based on his fascination for a subject of study rather than to school him in repetition and memorization. We have dedicated 13 years to home-education. Our curriculum goes beyond academics with a strong emphasis in practicing being kind, compassionate, generous, inclusive, not bullying. Overall, we make sure our son knows that we love him.

On the other hand, children who have been raised unloved, uncared for, unwanted, neglected, and who are not taught love, seem to be aggressive and less sensitive to needs of others. If we don’t teach children that we are a better nation not because we have bigger guns, but because we have better hearts, who is going to tell them? Who is going to prevent the constant gun violence in schools if not parents?

How do we expect to have peace among us and other nations if we constantly engage in conflicts? How can we change the world if we cannot reject the idea that power is not more important than people?  If we don’t embrace the power of love over the love of power.

It is imperative that we be example to others inspiring them to their own shifting of consciousness. In order to make this contribution to the world, we will have to conquer not far away lands but ourselves. We will have to conquer our anger, bitterness, righteousness. We will have to confront the reason for our loneliness. We will have to raise our children differently. We will have to trade our culture of competition for cooperation. We all need to be conscious of our actions.

Thich Nath Han, a world-known Vietnamese Buddhist monk and writer, spoke to the United Nations in 2015 and his words are an invitation to be the change. “There is a revolution that needs to happen, and it starts from inside each one of us. We need to wake up and fall in love with Earth. We have been Homo sapiens for a long time. Now it is time to become Homo conscious. Our love and admiration for the Earth has the power to unite us and remove all boundaries, separation and discrimination. Centuries of individualism and competition have brought about tremendous destruction and alienation. We need to re-establish true communication, true communion with ourselves, Earth, and with one another as children of the same mother. We need more than new technology to protect the planet. We need real community and cooperation.”

The world we live in, is a harmonious dwelling for nature and all the creatures among its forest, deserts, oceans, and mountains. Animals and plants know how to interact with each other. It is us, humans who choose not to learn from each other. The world does not really need to change as much as we Homo-sapiens need a renovation. Living in harmony with all sentient beings is participating in changing the world.