Catalysts of Change - a call to Action!
Imagine a South Africa where people respect each other for who they are. A country where poverty is a distant memory and crime so minimal that a “key scratch” on a car, would make the Sunday headlines.
It could be so. We could have the opposite of all the “daily complaints” that people pour into any willing ear.
Yes! People in positions of power and trust, could be free of nepotism and corruption. Hospitals could be well-funded and well-run, prisons could be safe and the legal system could be the finest in the world.
All it really needs is a change in the energy that we already use every day. If we move from:-
* prejudice to inclusiveness;
* complaining to complimenting and;
* from “profits of doom”, to “Catalysts of Change”, we
can transform this country and the world around us.
There are many Catalysts of Change in history - they always move beyond the mundane and do not accept the status quo. They have focussed thoughts, words and actions and they get other people to act in concert with them. Here are some current and historical catalysts.
Singapore
One such person is Lee Kuan Yew - past Prime Minister of Singapore - who has some critics. Yet, through his leadership, he has taken Singapore from a poor and very corrupt country to the corruption-free economic powerhouse that it is today.
Through massive housing programmes, a focussed acceptance of diversity and a strong anti-corruption programme - Singapore is a shining light in the world. Singapore a tiny country, with none of the natural resources of South Africa - grew its economy by 6.4% in 2005.
X-ray, Cancer treatment and advancement, by example, of womenkind.
“The ashes of Marie Curie and her husband Pierre have been laid to rest under the famous dome of the Panthéon, in Paris, alongside the author Victor Hugo, the politician Jean Jaurès and the Resistance fighter Jean Moulin.
Through her discovery of radium, Marie Curie paved the way for nuclear physics and cancer therapy. Born of Polish parents, she was a woman of science and courage, compassionate yet stubbornly determined. Her research work was to cost her life. She was born Marya Sklodowska and later married Pierre Curie.
Prior to April 21, 1995, the Panthéon’s memorial, honoured only Frenchmen and did not include any woman honoured on her own merits. It is an injustice which the then French President François Mitterrand sought to put right by transferring to the Panthéon the ashes of the physicist and chemist Marie Curie, and those of her husband.
She was a catalyst of change. From her work, came treatments for cancer and X-ray equipment. Marie also became the first woman to be appointed professor at the Sorbonne.
She died of leukaemia in July, 1934, at the age of 67. She was exhausted and almost blinded, her fingers burnt and stigmatised by "her" dear radium.
In order for her to catalyse change, she had to fight the prejudices of her day: hatred of foreigners and sexism which, in 1911, prevented her from entering the Academy of Science. And yet, soon after, she was honoured with a Nobel Prize for Chemistry for determining the atomic weight of radium.
In her path through life she changed perceptions of the abilities and value of women in society, was a real example for the reduction of xenophobia and put her research before money, but her real joy was "easing human suffering". Marie Curie remains an icon for all would-be catalysts of change.
A few yards from the Panthéon is the Curie Institute. Its mission is to promote co-operation between the sciences of physics, chemistry, biology and medicine, its ultimate objective being the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer...
Each year, the Claudius Regaud Hospital gives 70,000 consultations and 6,000 patients receive treatment there, with a hostel accommodating the parents of hospitalised children...” Information source
Other Catalysts of Change
* Florence Nightingale - who brought about the nursing movement and catalysed better standards of hygiene in the health services. She did this at a time when it was frowned upon for an educated woman to be involved in such work. She went against all societal beliefs, of the time, to take her vison into reality.
* Inkosi Albert Luthuli (Lutuli) - South Africa’s first Nobel Peace prize winner. Born in Southern Rhodesia( now Zimbabwe) in 1898 - he died under mysterious circumstances in 1967.
He said, “I personally believe that here in South Africa, with all our diversities of colour and race, we will show the world a new pattern of democracy... on the basis, not of colour, but of human values.” The foundations laid by this Catalyst of Change, and those who came with him, before him and after him, can be seen in our wonderful country.
* Guy Lundy - Author of “South Africa- Reasons to Believe.”
This focussed public speaker has a deep belief in South Africa and our role in the world. He is a powerful catalyst and the actions he takes today, will reverberate into the future - for many years to come.
Guy happily swims against the tide of negativity, and the fish are beginning to swim with him!
Some more agents of positive change:-
Your local community worker, the volunteer at Hospice, your teacher, Nelson Mandela, Helen Suzman, Thabo Mbeki, FW De Klerk, Miriam Mageba, Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Graca Machel, Archbishop Tutu, Zola, Nolene Maholwana Sanqu and the list goes on....
You too, are an Agent of Change!
When each one of us realises that change does not necessarily come from the actions of the government. It may not come from your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife brother or sister.
Nor does it have to emanate from well-known leaders alone. You are potentially an agent of positive change - in your family, your work, your team, your country and in the World. You already have the ability, and the power - right now...
Change fundamentally begins within each of us. It begins with a view of “what can be”, and not “what is.” When we move away from complaining and backbiting, and formulate greater visions of tomorrow, we will become the very agents of change that will catalyse a “people first” world.
When our focus is on a fair life for all, and on respect for all humankind - we will begin to move inexorably towards all the realities, that we desire in our lives.
Re-directing our energies.
Interestingly, it takes more energy to complain, than it does to spread visions of positive transformation. Such visions have a great habit of building our spirits. So:-
* If we are to think, let it revolve around thoughts of what we and like-minded people can do to transform our present situations.
* If we are to speak, let it be with positive power, with focussed energy and strategies.
* Then let us turn those words into the necessary physical action, that WILL transform this country, this continent and the world at large.
It is then when we will come of age. It will be then that the current woes of the world, will become distant memories of lessons once learnt.
It is then when we will truly be free.
Mthimkhulu International
Arthie and I - through the Celebrating Humanity© programme - are Catalysts of Change, so too are our team members and facilitators. We are all focussed on the transformation of the human spirit. We are catalysing Inkosi Albert Luthuli’s vision into reality. And we love every second of it!
Let’s build a list
The unwritten list of Catalysts of Change is long, but is still far too short. We are sure that you will place your name there. What is it that you are doing, or going to do, to catalyse change?
Have your say, by adding your name and that of your favourites to the Catalysts of Change Forum. Let us know what you and each person listed, is doing. And what categories we need to add to the forum.
Add your positive stories and articles to our on-line-publications. Let's hear of your successes and your dreams.
The Catalysts of Change© programme.
We are looking for volunteers to undergo our first Catalysts of Change© programme. The two day programme will be run in Durban, South Africa. Delegates seeking the knowledge and skills to transform self, family, company or country - are invited to email us to apply to attend. Please tell us why you should be chosen.
Brian V Moore©
Durban - South Africa