Be the Change…

I have always liked what I believed was a quote by Gandhi. Turns out, according to a New York Times article by Brian Morton entitled “Falser Words Were Never Spoken,” there is no evidence that Gandhi ever said that. According to Morton the closest verifiable remark from Gandhi is: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him ... We need not wait to see what others do." I’ll take that. Anecdotal experiences have shown that when a person creates the vision of positive change and puts in the personal work to hone that vision in his or her life, the brain changes—and the response of other brains to that individual also changes. Whining and grousing and complaining just reinforce a negative perspective. So wherever that quote originated (Be the change you wish to see in the world), it challenged me to be the best that I can be—for my own brain as well as for the brains of others.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/falser-words-were-never-spoken.html