Our society is obsessed with influencers like Kim Kardasian, Justin Beeber, and many others who can create ripple effects of human behavior from single tweets that ring out of their social media megaphones to the millions of people who follow their every move. Yet most of the influencing that is occurring has little social good value and often entraps people into mental gerbil wheels of drama, addicted to conflict and salivating to see what will happen next.
Against this backdrop, we are seeing more and more young people choose to become Compassion Influencers. More than in any previous generation in recent memory, we have young people who are listening to their hearts and making life choices that reflect levels of empathy that point towards a better world. These influencers care about the environment, want to work for companies and organizations that make a difference, tend not to hate women, are driving less, and open to shifting their food intake to lower their impact.
Compassion Influencers
Compassion Influencers realize that their choices have profound ripple effects, that there are no neutral decisions, and that they are active participants in shaping the world around them. They are proud to share publicly about the good they are doing in the world and seeing the interconnectivity of their decision-making. This means they don’t compartmentalize their lifestyle by fiercely advocating against human rights abuse while also hypocritically not caring about the environment. Instead, they see the common threads running between the various forms of injustice and act accordingly.
Step 1: CHANGE YOU
The first step towards being a Compassion Influencer is to simply realize our complicity in the injustices and to point the finger first and foremost at our selves. We realize that we can have profound impact by shifting the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the size of the homes we live in, the amount of water we waste, and beyond.
In a world so saturated with anger, division, greed, and hate, Compassion Influencers realize we must lace love into our lifestyles, our choices, our methods of communication, and our relationships. Our greatest influence, we come to know, is changing the life we lead and having the courage to proudly live in such truths regardless of the pressures of the norms of society encouraging us to do otherwise.
Incredible Lineage To Change The World
Compassion Influencers are not new. There is a tremendous lineage of which we are just the latest crop to grace the earth. Given the political climate of intolerance that is sweeping the globe, we are more vital than ever. Humanity, the animals, the waters, and the lands need us more than ever.
Help make compassion cool and hip. The more we show a brighter path forward steeped in non-violent paths of compassion, the larger our global herd will grow. It is far easier to live in Compassion when you know you aren’t alone. You have no idea who you will influence but I guarantee, you will start creating ripple effects in your family, your community, and by extension the world.
Together we thrive. Together, we change the world.
–Alok Appadurai is founder of Good Elephant, a visionary TEDxSpeaker, feminist, sober vegan dad. Reach out to him at alok {@} goodelephant.org if you would like him to speak and present on changing the world together.
