I Wanted to Change the World

I forget where I found this, but Quirk and I had a conversation about this while I was in Indiana.  I tried to paraphrase it but didn’t do it justice.  Here it is:

By Unknown Monk, 1100 A.D.

“When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.”