A conversation between me and a friend [with some parts paraphrased].

Friend:   How was 2007 for you?

Me:   Both 2006 and 2007 have been two of the worst years of my life.

Friend:   Hopefully this year will be better.

Me:   I really hope so too... what about you?

Friend:   It was all right. No super ups, no super downs.

Me:   Your life is quite stable in that sense.

Friend:   I guess so. I don't really like that. I want to do something great. Change the world. Change Malaysia. It feels like I've not done anything significant.

Me:   I can't say I've done great things either.

Friend:   I think you've caused ripples in Malaysia, certainly.

Me:   Strangely, I don't see it.

Friend:   At the very least, you're standing up for your beliefs in this very hard world.

Me:   [Friend's name], sometimes I'd like to think / imagine that I've done great things and very effective things to change the world. But it takes very little to convince me that actually I haven't done anything at all, or that I've done more harm than good.

Friend:   Yeah, I know what you mean. And the treatment you get from some people... We all want to do something great, but doing something great in this world will not yield any great fruit because they don't like the idea of change.

Me:   Yeah, you're a psychologist, you should know.

Friend:   The status quo is crap

Me:   Do u really feel very strongly about this?

Friend:   Yeah. I'm idealistic.

Me:   To what extent are u willing to go to change the world?

Friend:   I would like to devote my career to doing it.

Me:   When it becomes a career, you won't be creating change. Because it'll be too risky... the price is too high. It's when you're willing to sacrifice your career that change is created.

Friend:   You know what my idea was? I was thinking that I can write books and change the world.

Me:   Books don't change the world, [friend's name]. They can contribute a little to the answer, but they don't affect change. They just communicate concepts which few people attempt to translate into concrete action. Besides, most of the world is illiterate.

Friend:   Then what should I do? I mean, we're coming up against institutions and systems. It's a difficult battle. Changing the world is a lost cause, if you think about it. Many people are satisfied just having a good career, a good family. I dunno, changing the world is not easy at all.

Me:   I guess people like me don't try to "change the world". For me, it's simply about doing what is right.

Friend:   I thought you wanted to change the world too.

Me:   I'm dissatisfied with the state of the world, but it's not my ambition to change the world. It's my ambition to be the right person and to do the right thing... to change me. But in the process of being someone different, of changing myself, it rocks the status quo of the world.

Friend:   Maybe that's the way to change the world, by changing ourselves first.

Me:   Ghandi said, "Be the change that you seek".

Friend:   Wow, good words!