“It is easy to sit up and take notice.  What is difficult is getting up and taking action.” ~Honore de Balzac

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

There are some things we simply cannot change.  But a large portion of our life is within our scope of affecting.  How often do I complain of an ill in society or in a fellow human being or the way my field is constructed (insert music industry)?  But then how often do I actually do something to change what is bothering me?

 To begin the change you want to see in others and society, you might try this:

1. Sit up- Change starts first in the mind.  Are you wanting to chart a new course, do something that has never been done in your field or tweak who you are in positive ways?  Then situate yourself for success.  Sit up at the drawing board and say what are some ways I’d like to influence the spheres in which I reside?  Are there changes in a relationship or changes in my creative goals I need to reassess?  Why do I want to make these changes?  What is my motive for generating revenue in certain areas and for aspiring to greater things?  Is it for self or for others or for both?  And more importantly, how can I do these things with reasonable goals in reasonable time?
2. Take notice.  We humans seem to have the innate ability to detect inconsistencies in others and ideas as well as realizing when we feel we are being wrongly treated.  When we see something like this, instead of griping, do we begin to generate a plan for changing that, even in some small way?  What if the next time you thought something could be improved, you jumped in and got your hands dirty and saw a goal through unto completion?  By thinking of causes and areas in which you are passionate, you may find ways of volunteering and doing that will affect those involved for much good. 
3. Put up- if others scoff and believe that what you are doing is a waste of time, and you do not agree, ignore them.  Sometimes combining faith and talent may take a different form or road to the destination.  Sometimes faith will require us to think outside the box and figure out ways we can use our talents in unconventional ways.  Sometimes it will require us to use our talents not for ourselves, but for the greater good as well.  Think Noah spent all his time listening to the early naysayers? Oh, I’m sure he had a fair share of disappointment and angst over them, but ultimately, he knew they were not his standard.
4. Learn both to be active and to Be still.  The second is something that will probably take me a long time to master.  I enjoy going, doing, seeing, experiencing, but sometimes there is a time to just BE.  Do we sit and contemplate our goals, our ambitions, our spiritual relationship, the changes we want to make and on top of that, how we can go about causing these changes?  Do we know what it is to calmly plan so there is a sense of preparedness to our living?  As a dear friend of mine once said, “I sometimes feel as if I’m running all the time and don’t even have time to process my life.”  We need down time- we need to process what is happening to us- whether we are making wise use of our time and how we are going to be better tomorrow than we were today.  Writing these goals down helps us mentally visualize and ultimately accomplish them as we keep them in the forefront of our minds.

 What do you want to do?  Change your attitude toward something, become more proficient at a task or hobby, open a business, become a lead, garner a tribe, cultivate a relationship or accomplish a goal?  Whatever it may be, it will take time and work.  But if you are willing to give those two as well as ask God for his input and led him guide, then you are on the right path to accomplishing this (whatever it may look like in the end).

 And throughout all that you do, remember a heart of humility and thanksgiving will keep your mind in the right place.  We won’t be as apt to complain when we realize how abundantly we have been blessed. 🙂

~lme