CHANGE THE WORLD

How do we stamp out envy and killing and war and hatred

when around us so much has unfurled?

How do we bring back love, acceptance and understanding?

How do we change the world?

The answer may seem simple but it’s also glorious and sublime.

The best way to change the world, my friends…is one person at a time.

That is why as the last year comes to a close and the new one is incoming

I ask myself some questions about the person I’m becoming.

Do I bring joy to those around me? Do I enchant, amuse…beguile?

Have I been generous and giving? Have I made other people smile?

Have I been kind and compassionate? Am I not afraid to cry?

Have I brought joy into the world?…and not to oversimplify

but am I sensitive to the needs of others? Is my advice useful, effective and sound?

Am I someone people turn to? Am I safe to be around?

Have I seen the goodness in others? Do my friends and family think I’m a delight?

Have I been kind to strangers? Have I tried to do what’s right?

Am I accepting of others in this world though they are not at all like me?

Is the person I see in the mirror each morning….the person I want to be?

When I look back on this past year…at 2017 and my essence as a whole…

have I lived with love inside my heart and kindness in my soul?

I try to answer these questions truthfully…as the old year yields to the new…

And once again, in 2018…It seems…I’ve got some work to do.

But I am lucky as a human…with a new year about to be unfurled

there is still time to change myself…

and, perhaps, one day…

change the world.