Hey, we have 24 brand new hours today, here is a way to “make the world a better place” that will transform the way we show up in in the world.

Photo by Scott Jackson on Unsplash

We say with good intent: “I want to change the world”.  “I want to make the world a better place”.

 

The problem with this is that very often it ends with frustration as the world does not want to be changed, or at least does not want to be changed the way you want it changed.  Most of what people think of “changing the world” is of the hard type. Big grand changes that requires solid actions and upheavals.

 

The wish to change the world also starts with finding all the things “wrong” with the world. All the things “missing”, that should be there.  And then change the “wrong” things, to make them “right”.

 

And we start with seeing the world as a miserable place which requires “changing”. We see and focus on what’s wrong with the people in the world and try to imagine how to change them.

 

What if we start changing the way we see the world. What if we start by focussing on what’s “right” with the world. All the things that are going well in the world, and all the behaviours of people in the world that are commendable. I don’t mean that there is nothing “wrong”. But what if we focus on what’s “right”, and use that as a starting point.

 

And using that as a start to see how we can extend and increase all the “rightness” of the world.

 

This way, we would start seeing the world first as a wonderful place where we can be grateful for all it’s goodness, despite the faults and shortcomings. We can start seeing the beauty and goodness in even the “worst” people and see how we can help them to increase and amplify their goodness, however little we perceive they have. We can see how we can help the “goodness” replace and squeeze out the “badness”.

 

In short, we can start putting on a smile and change the way we see the world. By changing the way we see the world , as a safe and beautiful place first, and as an “ugly” place second.

 

In that way, we are not denying that there are plenty of wrongs which need to be righted. But we start from the other end and see if we can make the “right” help change the “wrong”. We can start seeing if we can selectively water the good and allow the goodness help transform the bad.

 

I am curious, what if we start putting on a smile, and look for all the stuff in the world that’s right, and use that to help make the world a better place? What if we help make the world a better place by drawing out the goodness even from the “bad” people?  

 

It all starts with putting on a smile and opening the eyes for the goodness.