I would like to thank you and congratulate you. I’d like to thank you because you are an important person doing wonderful things on this planet. Every moment you are here in a body, you contribute to the diversity and growth of life on this planet, and I am grateful that you are here. I’d like to congratulate you because if you are reading this, you recognize that you are part of the wellbeing of the planet and, by extension, the entire physical universe. You are here as one of the many people who are driving the evolution and development of not only the world that you experience, but also of the collective experience of the world. Whether you realize it or not, you are doing Divine work. And you are part of the solution to every problem we are facing on the planet.
Recognition that there is a problem is probably the most important first step in evolution. If we do not recognize a problem, there is no chance for evolution to begin. Thee are my things we all take for granted as the nature of reality right now that we will someday realize are problems deserving remedy. The realization that women are not the weaker sex that needs to be protected and therefore should pay for that protection with servitude was the beginning of the path to gender equality that we are on. It took a recognition of the problem to move us in a new direction. When some people noticed that the speed of research could be improved by connecting computers into a network to share information is what eventually led to what we call the World Wide Web or the Internet. Every time you notice that you would like some change or improvement, you are adding to the evolution of all that there is.
The moment that you envisioned a solution to the problem you recognized , both you and the rest of us took a step on a new path of evolution. This is true for the solutions that you and indeed all of us have imagined from inconveniences with your electronic devices like your Smartphone or Phablet to global warming or institutional racism. The moment that each and every one of us realizes that there is a problem and looks to a solution, we have moved in a new direction. The more clearly we know the truth of the solution, the greater the momentum there is in the direction of that solution. Your reality and the world that you create and inhabit moves in the direction of where you place your focus, and then, through your influence and the influence of others, the collective experience also moves in the direction of our focus of attention. Those shifts and movements may be imperceptible to us from time to time, but they are happening and we are evolving.
The next or penultimate step is the one most of us give our attention to. We build or buy the things we want to have or give. We move from one location to another in order to have a broader and fuller experience of the physical world. We also influence other people through the things that we do; we teach and shape opinion through our actions. The physical actions of doing, building, forming, and creating improvement are wonderful and laudatory. They are what are written down in books and recorded and memorialized on film, and they are what statues and other monuments are built in honor of. But I’d like to remind you of the aphorism from the tao te ching, “the journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath your feet.”* And so the final step of realization of the solution could not begin without the recognition of the problem that we are in.
Action is important in this physical universe. One might even say that action is one of the primary reasons that we decided to come into this physical existence. Half of the pleasure of being alive in a body comes from being able to do things. Action is one of the ways we get things done. It’s how we move things from one place to another. It is also one of the more obvious ways we move people from one perspective to another. We create change and influence others quite effectively through our action. But action is not only picking up a tool and doing work. The first levels of action are much less visible and greatly undervalued. Every realization that we want something different is a catalyst. Every thought and discussion about solutions and improvements influences our collective reality. Every prayer of thanksgiving for and toward the realization of solutions has moved you and the rest of the planet to evolve a bit more. Each of us has great influence on the world. We influence with our thoughts and words, and that influence increases with our positive focus on solutions. You are influencing and creating every moment of every day, sometimes without even being fully aware of the impact you are having.
Remember, it is all of those thoughts, discussions, and prayers that have led to the inspired action that manifested every solution, resolution, and creation. The steps that lead to the action are often overlooked, however, and deserve equal and significant appreciation. You deserve appreciation for every contribution you have made and continue to make while you are here in your body. Your recognition that things could be better, your visions of a brighter future, the opportunities you have taken to talk about your hopes and dreams, all of these have caused you and all of us to grow and become more than what we were. And so, I want to thank you again, and congratulate you.
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*Laozi, and Stephen Mitchell. Tao te ching: a new english edition. New York: Harper & Row, 1989; chapter 64
