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Monday, 23 January 2012

How Does One Go From Ordinary to Extraordinary?

*Inspired by Mohammed Bouazizi*


“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” - Jimmy Johnson 

When I was in primary school, my teacher asked the class 'Do you believe that one person can change the world?' We all thought for a few seconds and NO was the resounding answer. At the grand old age of eight or so, Princess Diana came to mind and I remember pondering 'well, she's just one person and she has changed the world', of course at eight though, the world is not much bigger than my My Little Pony lunchbox. Then I reconsidered that she was royalty and from money, she was no ordinary person so therefore she didn't count. It's 17 years later and I still wonder if our answers would have been the same. Even more importantly, do I think, now, at 25 years old, older but apparently none the wiser, if one person can truly change the world?

Some of the most famous figures in history and in the present whom I think have changed the world are people such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Ghandi. They suffered injustice and assassination but moreover changed the entire political landscapes of their racist countries. And without actually becoming politicians.


'Stop injustice with your hands, if you cannot, try to stop it with your tongue, if you cannot even do that then at least hate injustice with your heart, although that is the lowest degree of faith'. Prophet Muhammad (saw).

There have been countless times when I have had time to myself, whether on the bus or waiting in a queue, that I get into such a tizzy in my head over various injustices around the world, to the point where my face is in a full blown frown and heart starts physically straining. Now I am an adult, how do I go about from simply hating wrong with my heart to stopping it with my hand? Actually changing the world?




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