
Does It Have To Be This Way?
You have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world.
Harriet Tubman
My book of the month for April was Do I Stay Christian?, by Brian McLaren. I had planned to write about it this week, but haven’t been able to get right exactly what I want to say. I look forward to sharing those thoughts next week.
So today, I just wanted to share a quote I came across from Krista Tippett, American journalist, author, and host of the podcast On Being (I haven’t listened yet but I’ve heard good things). She says:
“It’s not wishful thinking. It’s not assuming that things will turn out alright. It’s an insistence. Looking at the world straight on as it is, and rejecting the idea that it has to be that way. And then throwing your light and your pragmatism, as much as your spirit at that. What does it look like if you don’t accept it? That’s how I think of it.”
Are there things in your life that you’d like to reject as the way it has to be? Would you like things to change in your country? Your work? Your family? Your community? Your church? Your mind?
Often we don’t try to change things because the problem seems to big. Too daunting. I envision the greatest humans throughout history asking themselves the question, “Does it have to be this way?” Mahatma Gandhi. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Nelson Mandela. Florence Nightingale. Abraham Lincoln. Harriet Tubman. They had a vision of what life would look like if they didn’t accept it how it was. And then they went forward and made a difference.
The thought of bringing about change often feels overwhelming. But I think we all have the power to enact change, whether big or small. We don’t have to change the world to change a life. What would life look like if you chose not to accept it as it is?
This month I’m reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. If you decide to read this, I implore patience. The payoff is worth it!!