“Do now what nature demands of you? Get right to it if that’s in your power. Don’t look around to see if people will know about it. Don’t await the perfection of Plato’s Republic, but be satisfied with even the smallest step forward and regard the outcome as a small thing.” – Marcus Aurelius
The year 2020 did not lack in any number of major events to fill a newspaper headline. Currently, dealing with a global pandemic from a virus cloaked in uncertainty and overblown severity, all the while cities “burn” as social change is at the forefront of the political landscape.
Media that can reach anyone, anywhere, any time has highlighted causes and social changes around the globe. So many major events and so many voices urging change, even if some are of the narrow-minded kind.
Change is painful but necessary, no matter the subject, whether individual, national or global.
However, some believe power can create the needed changes for us. Simply casting a vote or writing a letter and bingo, the magic politicians enact the change we seek. We forget that the change we truly crave is created through the micro. This micro is our decisions and actions on a small scale, which over time can create change in the macro, impacting the lives of many.
Too many are afraid to act, as they are waiting on others or those in power to create change. But perhaps we all have the power to create change at the ground level that reciprocates like gratitude, spreading to others the power to create change in their environments. Ripple effects which turn micro actions into macro movements that can truly change the world.
In creating a risk-aware community, the small decisions and actions that give to the greater good of society are the ones that will create the change we all seek.
All it takes is small alterations in how we perceive risks in our decisions and actions to create positive change. Small changes which over time snowball into movements that turn society towards a brighter future.
There will never be a perfect time to start changing the world, as it must be taken one step at a time. Small steps which create a better future for all.
