We can change the world if people carrying a willingness to look at themselves.
Acceptance of other people ideas and differences , acceptance that we may be wrong or our ways are not the ONLY ways of seeing and learning; we need tolerance of old folks and young ones, for visibly as well as disabled folks with "invisible" illness; in the USA and worldwide acceptance of different religions.
WE need to teach this in our classrooms as well.
We need less time with our blue-tooths hanging off our heads, or our cell phones pressed to our ear, and more time concentrating on the child or family members that need us to hear them.
Less time multi-tasking and more time relaxing or meditating. When we overdo and do not take care of our health (like reducing stress or eating while sitting, not running around) we end up as a big part of the damaged health care system. Stress, constant anxiety and worry lead to diseases of the body when cortisol is constantly being pump into our systems,
Pick up good habits to replace your bad habits. When you want to smoke, drink, or drug - do a task that relaxes you..keeps you hands busy until the urge subsides; some folks take up knitting (good holiday gift idea), some take very deep breaths of fresh air, hold for a certain count, then exhale; some write, paint or draw, because letting your creative self out can help you get out the stress you feel by placing it on paper and out of yourself.
When we change our rigid views, when we learn how to nurture ourselves, and when we look at how important it is to have healthy connections - we can accept that which is not our normal viewpoint; when we care for ourselves it can give us more energy to be honestly available for the children and spouses and S.O's, etc, -- so that when we are approached with “red flag” & self-defeating relationships, or ideas on how substances will take away the bad so we can only feel the good - we damage our connections and thus families cannot get along, neighborhoods become battlegrounds, cities crime-ridden. And if we have more than enough - giving back to others - not only gives hope, but gives the giver a sense of pride when the thought is about who and how we are helping
How can we expect peace in our world if we do not even have it in ourselves? How can the fighting in this world end, if family members, friends, employees and employers, moms and dads are constantly at odds with one another? If we can't effectively take control of our own selfish and destructive behaviors - how can we expect anyone else to "fix" the wrongs, the crime, or the pressures that overwhelm?