28 Jun 2008

Be the Change

$Chris Guillebeau\'s World Domination Report$

These are the words of one of my favorite bloggers that keep ringing in my head over and over again. I’ve been reading his “The Art of Non-Conformity” blog for a while now, but what really interests me is not his traveling across the world, his goal of visiting every country in existence, or even his running a marathon on a cruise ship. What really interests me about him is that he is speaking what I am thinking, only he is doing a better job of it and is acting upon the advice.

I’ve been preaching for years, but I still haven’t gotten the hang of practicing everything I preach. I’ve had my illusions of grandeur and my magnificent “things to do before I die list” (Will be posted soon), but I’ve struggled mightily implementing those ideas. Sure, I am limited by my job (work for Uncle Sam) and my chosen constraints (such as family and religious life), but more than anything I am limiting myself because of my own self-imposed constraints.

The reason I mention all of this is because thanks to Chris, I have realized that the only major barrier I have to accomplishing what I am meant to do (which is what I call, living my Dharma) is the amount of sacrifice I am willing to accept and the amount of freedom I am willing to grant to myself

What am I saying here? Well for starters, you just have to read his report because he is far better a wordsmith than I…but just in case you don’t get there right away my point is this: The only things that are limiting us, are the restrictions we place upon ourselves. Think about it! This was one of those epiphany moments for me because for so long I let the “man” tell me how I had to live my life. I’ve let other people influence me in a way that forced me to get in line like everyone else. As a youth I promised I’d change the world, but somehow I got off track. I’m not sure what happened between then and now, but I can definitely sense the difference in my own well-being as a result of becoming socially programmed.

But what if I don’t want to get in line?

Well then, I strongly suggest reading the World Domination Report to understand exactly what I mean. You only live once (or so they say) and I don’t see any reason why you should follow someone else’s directives rather than the ones you feel you should be. Let your heart and sould do the leading and let’s all “be the change” together. Read Chris’ report and let me know how well you liked it.