I was listening to a speaker recently who made a statement that forced me to think about who I am in relation to the world.
Here's my question: Am I a microcosm of the world or a change agent in the world?
I don't think I can do with the "so I don't have to think too deeply about this answer" that says, "I'm a little of both." Certainly, I do resemble the world in many ways -- my own world around me (environment) -- but which am I more likely to be classified as and why? What about you? Why?
I think we'd all like to think of ourselves as change agents rather than microcosms, and inasmuch any of us are products of our environments, resembling our environments, but not necessarily microcosms of the same, I think we can change our world without being classified as change agents. Sure, if I make a decision it affects everyone around me and since I know everyone on the planet through six people or less (Six degrees of Kevin Bacon) I know I am a change agent as much as I'm a microcosm.
That said, which am I if I were to be classified as one or the other?
I decided that there are people who make it their goal to be a microcosm. To be one with all that is around them and to be absorbed or reflective of all that is in nature or whathaveyou. What they see in nature must be truth and therefore they should work to reflect or live by what they see. To me, that's microcosmic.
The word Cosmos in Greek means to arrange. Some people are arranged -- in thoughts, decisions, attitudes, outlooks, et cetera -- like the world. To me, the world means more than nature, but all that is in it. (If one doesn't consider us a part of "nature", but that's another debate, eh?) So the world is what is offered by people, what is condoned, what is approved, what is traditional, kosher, polite, expected. Interestingly enough, those who rebel against such things often join groups, dressing alike, acting alike, believing alike, and overall doing exactly what they said they despised, only together. We're microcosmic animals. We look like the whole.
I made a decision to be a change agent.
This would mean that I'm questioning all that is offered, condoned, approved, traditional, kosher, polite, and expected. When I find something that is better, I go with what I've discovered and tell others about it. Telling others is the change part.
What I've found that's better than all that the world offers is sacrificial living and loving. Giving. The only reason I do something is because I'm listening to my God. This is why religion doesn't sit well with so many people. It's prescriptive and microcosmic itself. We're not supposed to be microcosmic. And that's why "religion" in the strictest sense of the word is not for me. I have to behave in such a way to please God.
And if you think that's the same thing as having all the church folk think you're doing the right thing, you're wrong. When you decide to live for God, people are always stepping up to ask, "do you know what you're getting yourself into?" They love to come out of the wood work and tell you why you have to be mistaken. There's the challenge. Microcosm or change agent?