Yes, we are living in a world where we are shown man's inhumanity toward each other, through violence, terrorism, and war. Never has there been a time when our light has been more needed than now. No longer can we just wish, hope and pray that our government is making conscious choices. As loving parents, it is essential that we also take positive action.

If we can do this I believe, with my whole being, that we are on the brink of something truly amazing. The vision I hold is that we are but a moment away from creating a world that will be safe for our children, their children, and all generations to follow.

Some of you might be thinking, how can I, as one person, change what is happening in our government and our world? By becoming a spark to help others raise their awareness. This can occur by committing to creating peace within yourself and your family, by helping people discover their light, and by voting — and encouraging others to vote — for political leaders who value humanity. As you do this, you set in motion the intention of positive transformation.

If one by one each of us takes personal responsibility for raising the awareness of humanity, we begin to shift the global consciousness. I believe this is the only way to stop war and violence.

There is a powerful phenomenon in group behavior called reaching a critical mass. What this means is that one person begins initiating a behavior, others observe it and begin imitating the action. Then one by one others join in until enough people are behaving in the same way and the entire crowd follows, this is the critical mass.

I personally witnessed this phenomenon when my husband and I took our children to a Florida Marlin's game. The stadium was filled with the energy of 25,000 people, each an individual brought together for the collective purpose of enjoying an afternoon of baseball. My six year old daughter Riley, who is very wise and observant, was fascinated by the crowd. As she looked around with determined eyes she leaned over and said, "Mommy, do you think I can get the whole stadium to start doing the Marlins cheer?" I told her, "Go for it and see what happens."

She began very quietly chanting, "Let's go Marlins," then she looked around and noticed that her father, brother and I were chanting with her. She became more confident and began cheering louder. The section behind and in front of us joined in. Within moments all 25,000 people erupted in a frenzy chanting, "Let's Go Marlins." My daughter beamed knowing that she had ignited a spark of inspiration and passion that spread so quickly.

The light that each of us shares is just like Riley starting the stadium cheering. The healing spark our government and world so desperately needs, can be ignited by each of us at any moment. Change always occurs with one little spark, just look at Martin Luther King, Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Theresa, Moses, Christ, and Buddha.

As in the immortal words of Mahatma Gandhi, be that change you wish to see in the world. You never know, you might just be the spark that changes our collective consciousness to peace and integrity.

May you have the courage to speak your truth, may you find peace within and may we all know peace on earth.

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Debbie Milam is the co-creator of "Empowering Our Children: Creating Connected Families, Classrooms, and Communities " . She is an occupational therapist and life coach whose work has been featured in over 300 media outlets including The Miami Herald, Elle, Ladies Home Journal, PBS and The Hallmark Channel. Visit her website for more books and resources to help you be a highly effective parent. Visit her online at www.bestyoucanbe.org and sign up for her newsletter to receive your special report, "Creating Peace Within Yourself and Your Family." © Copyright 2008 Debbie Milam.
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