You are the revolution
These are troubled times, there is no doubt about it, and after traveling, trying to always get as involved as possible in local cultures, I have realized something as surprising as it is dismaying. Wherever you are reading this article, you will have a hard time believing what I am going to tell you, but yes, the perception you have of the problems that you think are affecting only your country at this moment is exactly the same as that of the majority of people in their respective countries.
Do you think that the politicians in your country are the most corrupt in the world?
Do you think youth unemployment is a terrible problem?
That healthcare is becoming an increasingly private and exclusive service?
Do you feel that every day there are more demonstrations and dissatisfied people?
Don’t you get the impression that before everything was more authentic and entertaining and that the law is increasingly more restrictive?
Well, that is exactly what Peruvians, Spaniards, Indonesians, British, Thais, Greeks and even Canadians think. Something that has made me come to the conclusion that the problem and mainly the solution lies within us. It’s time to stop complaining that everything is going wrong and really take action. You friend, you are the revolution.
The crisis of values that plagues our civilization has become so global that it gives the impression that any movement or action is going to be in vain, that it is impossible to change the situation. Furthermore, living in the age of information and communication often allows us to discover incredible stories of extraordinary people who carry out some type of performance that not only has special relevance but also denotes epic and moving overtones. These facts make us think that changing the world is something unattainable for us. Nothing is further from reality.
In each country, groups protest against their political entities, but unfortunately the reality is that today international Corporations and Agencies have much more power than the politicians of each country.
As a citizen, you are conceived as a ‘consumer’ for the system and, therefore, one of the most powerful weapons you have is to choose your way of ‘consuming’, something you do every day of your life and that can really affect the brands that form the corporations managing the direction of society. Normally, the wealthiest consume among themselves; The director of a large company buys a luxury car from a very powerful company, has lunch in the most exclusive restaurants where the owner is also a millionaire, spends his vacation at the luxury resort of another businessman as opulent as him, etc. Thus, it can be said that there are two financial groups in the world: us and them. Every time you choose to consume in a food chain instead of in a local restaurant, when you buy all your food in a supermarket chain instead of in fruit stores, bakeries, fishmongers, etc. from your neighborhood, by buying clothes from international brands instead of handmade garments and in short, every time you decide to consume in chains and multinationals you are making them richer and more powerful and less so for us. Wealth is power and power is decision, as simple as that.
Thus, focusing your way of consuming is clearly a way of revolution that you can exercise every day, but it is not the only one. A better world is possible and we are the key to achieving it, but for people to be in a position to carry out humanitarian work, selfless community actions and other actions that can make the world a little better place, they need motivation, inspiration, happiness, joy.
Our mood is shaped by the people around us, something that works the same in the opposite direction. You shape and influence the morale of those around you every day and therein lies another powerful tool of rebellion and change. In the same way that every day you choose your way of consuming, you also decide your way of acting. Every time you communicate with a person or even when you look at each other, you decide if you prefer to do it in any way or without, instead you choose to give a smile, speak positively and have a beneficial influence on your fellow man.
Every day you come across hundreds of people on whom you have a direct influence and at every moment you make decisions that can change the world. Now you know the tools you have to start your insurrection, you no longer have excuses to sit idly by complaining that the world could be better because you are the key to change. I know that you will not fail me, we both know that the time has come and that you, my friend, are the revolution.
