COLUMN: C’mon baby, do the evolution

It has been postulated by social anthropologists that this generation is going to be the next

greatest generation.

In their book, “Millennials Rising” authors Neil Howe and William Strauss examine the idea that the next generation, the generation of which each student at this university is a part, will be known for their creativity, cooperation, ethics, morals and modesty. If you feel this is asking too much from your classmates, instead ask yourself if it’s too much for you.

When Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world,” he wasn’t giving some false platitude to spiritually starved masses or throwing out some catch phrase that would look good on a bumper sticker.

He was giving us the blueprint to build a better world. What we failed to really take home, though, was the heart of what he was trying to teach us: To change the world, we need only change ourselves.

As a people, humans are crying out for a change, but it’s one that we feel at a loss to put into words. We are entering a world of such hyper-communication that we are witness to chaos theory in effect.

But here, instead of a butterfly’s wings creating a hurricane around the world, we are seeing one man’s self-immolation lead to a cry of freedom from an entire region of oppressed people. This tiny spark is alive in all of us — we just cannot yet see it.

Scientists have shown that the intention or will of the observer can change the outcome of an experiment. What quantum physicists have found is that sub-atomic particles behave exactly the way they want them to

in experiments.

Just think about that one point for a moment. The conscious intentions of the observer had a measurable effect on the outcome of the experiment.

So what can this information do for us as students and graduates? For starters, it should hopefully awaken your imagination. It should open up your mind to the possibility that how you feel about your life and how you want it to unfold might have some impact on whether it turns out well or not.

I am no Ghandi, and I have no distilled bits of wisdom for you to chew on, but what I do have are my observations. As a soon-to-be-certified, trained journalist, I’ve developed my keen sense of observation for just this moment — to reveal the ultimate truth of the universe to you. Are you ready? Here it is: Everything is a construct of your mind, even me.

We move through this three dimensional world with the aid of our senses. These senses are all we can know of the world outside ourselves. They reveal to us only a very limited spectrum of reality, the only part of the spectrum we have the tools to observe.

You might be asking yourself, “But then if everything we experience physically is only a construct, a lens through which our spirit looks, what are we supposed to do with that information?” Maybe you aren’t supposed to do anything with it. If you are, all I can tell you is to look inside yourself.

Change yourself before you try to change the world. Real, lasting change can only come from inside you, by learning to love yourself. Only then will you have a firm enough foundation to try to change the world

outside yourself.

As for me and the objective world of journalism, I am going to be more aware of my biases, so when I am reporting on a story I can question my own motivations. It’s only through recognizing this facet of life that we can have any hope of correcting it.

Reach columnist Nolan Peterson at [email protected]