Making a Difference

Making a difference in our life and the lives of others does not require special skills, experience, education, social status, age or sex requirements or any other society-labeled qualification. It calls only for a sincere desire to do so.

You may be a bank teller, hotdog vendor or sales clerk wanting to brighten the day of your customers with a warm, contagious smile. Or, you could be a humble, champion of the poor like Mother Teresa, who taught the world to look past the wretched, unwashed body to the soul within. However humble or grand your inspiration to make a difference may be, there is no order of difficulty to the one who seeks, with passion to influence circumstances for good.

Passion in this case means a burning desire, guided by unconditional love. It is always harmless and comes from a win-win perspective and an uncompromising integrity. The one who is driven by passion is living their life purpose. You can see and feel it in the shine of their eyes, the spring in their step, the exhilaration of their expression and especially in the magnetic quality they have to influence others.

The propensity to engage in a life changing purpose that will make a difference on any level does not come with a degree or a certificate. It comes from deep within and is often found through an obscure insight, a flash of intuition or a delightful coincidence.

For much of this century, pragmatic, science based education has trained people to dismiss ephemeral visions as unverifiable and even childish nonsense. Accordingly, although most people have experienced these intuitive messages frequently throughout their lives, they failed to act on them.

However, a recent surge of interest in other world phenomena has opened the minds of millions to the real possibility of higher, albeit unseen guidance. This has caused a steady increase in everyday visionaries who can be identified by the distinctive way in which they think.

They tend to be receptive to insight, symbolism and meanings hidden by linear thinking. They will often see things as if from above, in its entirety and complete, in many cases before they have begun.

Their thinking involves a focus on what is desired rather than on how to acquire it. When thinking about how to manifest a certain goal, there is a natural tendency for past failures and mistakes to float to the surface of our consciousness, challenging our will to achieve.

But when guided by passion, the content of what a person wants to change attracts people, circumstances and conditions, which are conducive to the successful fruition of that manifestation. This is partly due to focus. The things we place our focused attention upon are energized and given life. This is why it is so important to choose our thoughts carefully.

If our attention is distracted by past mistakes, we are giving energy to those thoughts, which in turn attracts circumstances that are similar. Even well meaning thoughts about ridding ourselves of debilitating habits, will ensure those habits remains with us. Those who succeed in making a difference, make it a habit to focus on what they want not on what they want to get rid of.

For example if a person focuses on getting out of debt, the idea of debt is still receiving their focused energy and circumstances will continue to mold themselves around that seed thought. To rid oneself of debt he must focus on the opposite condition. Focusing on becoming financially independent will eliminate the debt and create a condition well beyond merely being debt free.

This is what I call a 49/51% attitude adjustment. Only a 2% difference in the direction of our thought can make an enormous difference to the outcome.

Swift responsiveness to inspirations received rather than impulsive behavior that sways with the winds of emotion, highlights this thinking process. It is marked by a passionate, unshakeable dedication to the change desired.

The constant flood of media persuasion or the fickle tide of popular tends, fails to influence the visionary from his chosen course of action to make a difference. In fact it is more likely the gravity of his influence will redirect the flow of opinion as it enters the mainstream of everyday social dialogue. And eventually, open-minded acceptance of any subject renders it a self-evident truth.

By following our passion, unattached to the binding controls of outside circumstances, whether viewed as positive or negative, we will automatically begin making a decided difference in the world we perceive.

The benefits of a life lived in this way are not in some distant, unknown future but in the moment by moment expression of life. Following the flow of our heart's innermost desire carries with it a harmony and joy that needs no time or space requirement to experience.

And anyone can begin to make a difference right now, by allowing that desire to emerge.