I read a quote a few months ago and it has stayed with me. Richard Rohr writes:

“We cannot change the world except insofar as we have changed ourselves. We can only give away who we are. We can only offer to others what God has done in us. We have no real mental or logical answers. We must be an answer. We only know the other side of the journeys that we have made ourselves…All the conflicts and contradictions of life must find a resolution in us before we can resolve anything outside ourselves. Only the forgiven can forgive, only the healed can heal, only those who stand daily in need of mercy can offer mercy to others. At first it sounds simplistic and even individualistic, but it is precisely such transformed people who can finally effect profound and long-lasting social change.”

In this quote, I found the expression of my motivation for the work I have devoted my life to. We stand in the midst of a world in tremendous need of healing, social change, relational repair, and transformation of systems of power. But every broken system that exists is simply the sum of the people in it, and so it is my belief that our hope for a better world will be found starting at the individual level.

We must start with ourselves. The things that bother us about the world or other people are likely a call first to us, to become the change we wish to see. To embody it first within our own lives. And then, as Richard Rohr says, we become capable of truly creating change. What sense does it make to work to change the larger world in some way if we haven’t first sought to effect that specific change in our own life? It’s there that often requires the most courage.

I believe that we are all called to effect healing in some way within our sphere of influence and that we are given daily opportunities to do this. We are called to attend to our own healing, and then to be agents of love within our relationships and in the community where we find ourselves. (Which we will automatically be if we have effected transformation within ourselves.) If everyone attended to their sphere of influence in this way, the world would certainly be renewed.

Transformed people will transform the world. But changing ourselves is not easy; it might be the hardest work we ever do. Which is why everyone isn’t rushing to do it. It’s easier to chase other things. But I know that it is possible, that it is necessary, and that there is freedom to be found when we are able to access the healing our life is calling us to. When we find that healing, we not only bring ourselves to a better place, we also advance our family, our community, our ancestry, our bloodline, and the world as a whole. This is the real work of our lives. We can acquire titles, money, and fame, but those things cannot accomplish this work for us. The healing we need will still be there in the background of our lives until we address it.

Spiritual practices like meditation and prayer do help us heal and change. There is healing to be found, even though our personal and societal challenges can often seem dark and intractable. There is healing available and when you start seeking after it, you will see that the love of God is constantly conspiring to help you bring it to pass. God is near.

*Quote source: Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, “There is Nothing to Regret (God Uses Everything in Our Favor,” June 12, 2017, Center for Action and Contemplation.