What I'd like to bring to the table for this weeks ecoTrain challenge, is what some of the characteristics are that lead to a positive impact on humanity. This is a really interesting area for me to write about and I am happy that this question won the EcoTrains votes.
I have learnt that people can make a positive impact on humanity through so many intricate and complex ways. The size of the group that we potentially can impact and the demographics of that group will always change.
I have experienced the impact of someone else's positive approach to life that became a personal memory and those experiences always bring a sense of belief in the kindness that other people can have. I wonder if those same people have had such an impact on anybody else?
Someone can personally impact the lives of just a few or one person near to them and that can end up causing a bigger more potent affect then helping a lot of people at once. Passing on knowledge to a single student may lead to that student one day becoming a teacher themselves and then passing the knowledge on to many people at once. The nature and value of the information that has been shared is, of course, the variable. It could even be in the form of personal, structured moral support and confidence.
A lot can be said for an opposite to this scenario. A well known person, for example, can make an act of kindness by taking action on a subject or campaigning to change peoples minds or even a law. A large number of people may really want or need that change to happen, and when change comes, that person can often become a great inspiration or 'archetype' of positive impact.
CORRECT ACTION - INTENTION
INTENTION - ACCURATE THOUGHTS & CONFIDENT FEELINGS
We can all agree that ACTION is a catalyst for change in the physical world. You've got to utilise your energy to put plans and thoughts in some physical form to make them REAL, to get them out to the physical world and actualise the idea. It takes a degree of boldness to plan what you are doing so that it becomes energy and time effective. It also takes a degree of focus and willingness to work through completing tasks that are outside your comfort zone, or to work through feelings of failure, or rather 'temporary blockages'.
Behind this action though are our THOUGHTS. I think therefore I am. This is so often an area that is highly misunderstood; or at least a sort of mystery. But similar principles to action can apply to thought. The first thing that we can ask ourselves is; what is our INTENTION? I believe that having an intention can directly link our thoughts to our feelings. What do you feel when you think about something? Let's talk about the state of peace and oppression. You may have your own views about oppression that are associated with situations and events that you may have experienced in your life. If someone fears being oppressed, if someone is confused at how it can exist, if someone who oppresses can be glad that they can be in control and oppress others (not my views). These views or thoughts are all generated and associated with a person's individual feelings. Similarly, what are your feelings towards peace?
Two days ago my partner and I took a course in childbirth preparation. Something very coincidental to this weeks ecoTrain question happened during that course that I'd like to share to support my post.
The whole point of the course was to create a positive impact on all the 'soon to be parents' in the room and it was clear that some men (including me) are nervous about being able to support their partners in an effective way during labour. What the course leaders wanted to translate to us, is that your feelings of uncertainty and the feeling of being outside your comfort zone is only human nature. But that it is your INTENTION that will change your feelings in the future, during the actual time when we are at the hospital ready to give birth.
This lesson was pretty transcending for me!
I believe that we can apply this philosophy to every situation in our lives.
If we pre-meditate our INTENTION for situations and focus upon what environment at feelings we want to have at that event in the future, we can arrive more prepared and be 'expecting' of how we want a situation to be.
I INTEND that it will be fun. I intend that I will be helpful in these ways. I INTEND that I will be calm and accepting of that, it is all new.
When I think about the question for this post, I THINK about peace, I think about positive interactions. I think about liberation, be it personal, for a group of people, or as humanity as a whole. I FEEL a great sense of confidence, humbleness at what we as a species have and are achieving. I feel happy, joyous, content, focused grounded yet elevated. And this all comes with knowing that every person that has had such a positive impact on my life, has had a clear sense of INTENTION. That intention translates into a persona, into an attitude towards life that I believe has a strong effect on the subtle energy between people and places. With individual people, it can translate into that 'something' about a person's character that is very hard to describe.
I believe that one of the most profound and seldom spoken ways we can have a positive impact on humanity is to build a picture in the mind that intends positive thought about humanity that is unequivocally backed-up by ones warm feelings of confidence, patience and love.
If one has an intention for humanity that is backed by positive thoughts and feelings, one can have self-confidence in knowing that there is no other person, situation or event that can change the state of intending only the most positive impact on humanity as a whole. With that viewpoint, one can plan or at very least, hope that one's actions are thereafter of the same nature.
For now, I would like to leave you with this incredibly inspiring video.
