Revolutionize Yourself

Image via Wikipedia

'Change Yourself, Change the World' is the motto so vociferously announced to the world by Spanish anarchists in the early 20th century and especially during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

So resonant is the message that many companies and organizations have adopted the saying as their mantra, in some cases completely unaware of its origins.

We are now approaching that time of the year where we all promise to make changes to our lives--the dreaded "New Year's Resolutions." Throughout the year we often need to be reminded that we need to appreciate ourselves more often. In this day and age of immediacy, distancing social relationships through technology and crumbling social etiquette, I would like to feature two sayings that are worth keeping in mind.

The first comes from a book written by Louis Auchincloss in 1974 titled 'A Writer's Capital.' In it he writes, "a man can spend his whole existence never learning the simple lesson that he has only one life and that if he fails to do what he wants with it, nobody else really cares." The message: your life should be important to you...who cares what others think! We need to be reminded of this at times.

The other comes from the "Weddings/Celebrations" section of the December 26th New York Times. A couple--Mina Guiahi and Jesse Levinson married in mid-December, but what struck me was a Farsi quote--"ghilli vili." It means, roughly translated "to create a revolution in someone."  To create a wonderful change and sensation in someone. I can't think of a more noble goal, except perhaps, for creating a revolution in ourselves.

Happy New Year, everyone!