You must be the change you want to see in the world.

-- Mahatma Gandhi

I'm pretty sure most everyone is familiar with this quote, and for those familiar I'm sure most believe it to be true.  Gandhi was inspirational - these were not just words.  He lived this way.  He lived to be the change.

How do you live to be the change?

Last night I had a wonderful evening with my daughter.  I got a father/daughter night that I have been wanting to enjoy for a quite a while.  We went for sushi at Fuji Grill; she tried new foods, we talked and shared time together in a very vociferous and joyous environment.  Then we went to see Hunger Games together.  A movie she really wanted to see after enjoying the books so much.

When the movie ended and the lights came up in the theater we made our way to the exit.  You know how it is in these theaters - even though the lights came up, adjusting your eye-sight to the new lighting in a dark walled, dark floored theater can be difficult.  About halfway down the stairs to the exit, there was an older man carefully navigating the stairs.  His family was cut off from him by other people trying to get out of the theater - we're always in a rush, aren't we?  His family was calling to him to wait, but he was gingerly holding seat-backs and taking cautious steps down.

Sometimes it takes a moment to register...  but once it does, you realize what you need to do.  So I told my daughter to wait a moment, and I took the man by the elbow to help guide him down the stairs.  Not so much supporting him, but just re-assuring him that there was someone there that could assist him on his way.

For me, being the change isn't just being the change...  it is teaching my children to follow these examples and be the change.

Being the change ends with us if we don't teach these lessons to our children too.  They need to continue being the change.