It is confidently expected that the period is at hand, when man, through ignorance, shall not much longer inflict unnecessary misery on man; because the mass of mankind will become enlightened, and will clearly discern that by so acting they will inevitably create misery to themselves.
—Robert Owen
With the arrogance of youth, I am determined to do no less than to transform the world with Beauty. If I have succeeded in some small way, if only in one small corner of the world, amongst the men and women I love, then I shall count myself blessed, and blessed, and blessed, and the work goes on.
—William Morris
If I Were King...
Did you ever want to change the world?
Maybe as a small child you muttered the words, “If I were king of the world, I’d...”
In those days my world was very small. All the changes I would have made were localized. I would have made it so my mother didn’t have to work so many hours and could spend more time at home. My grandmother would have had more money to take my brother and me to baseball games between her favorite teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Simple wants for a child who wanted to be king of the world.
Today, however, the scope of my edicts would widen to include my ever expanding knowledge of our expanding universe. As king of the world, I could end hunger, put an end to needless bloodshed and erase all borders between nations.
Yet, if I were king of the world, I would make only one proclamation and that would be to end man's inhumanity to man. There would be one rule, a very simple one! Treat every living organism, including our planet, as an extension of yourself. What you do to any living organism is directly and proportionally done to one's self.
Look at the two photographs above. A single cell and the universe. The only difference is magnitude, nothing more. I don't believe mankind will understand and accept the interconnectedness of all living things during my lifetime and I will never be king of the world. But, for any and all future would be kings out there, please take my words to heart.
From nothing came everything. From a single cell came the universe. This universe gives life to you and every other living organism.
We each have a role in creating the world we want to live in. It is so clear and yet it is hard to see!
You don't have to be king to change the world.
Photo Credit: Universe Today - June 2, 2005 799 x 600 pixels - 121k - jpg www.universetoday.com
Electron micrograph of a Single Cell ...1874 x 1800 pixels - 2608k - jpg www.nist.gov