There’s a thought in the introductory essay of Eknath Easwaran’s translation of The Dhammapada, which is his commentary on the book, that we see the world not as it is, but rather as we are.

We impose a range of biases and past experiences on our present and future actions. Even with regard to our interactions with people, we don’t see others as they see themselves, but as we see them. Therefore, we experience each other and the world in very selfish ways and how the world is perceived will be different based on the mind and ego of the experiencer.

He retells a story that is relevant for today when he writes of two men who go to foreign lands to experience and report back what they find. One found the people basically good at heart and generous. The other, a bit jealous, found that the people he experienced were selfish, scheming and cruel. In turned out that both we describing the same land.

As Easwaran writes, ‘”We see as we are,’ and our foreign policy follows what we see.” When I apply this idea to my country, the whole concept becomes very troubling.

The ultimate idea here is that if we change ourselves, we change the world around us, even if in subtle ways. Because all change, like revolution, starts within. And true revolution, like true change, is about the heart of the individual.

Or, as Robert Anton Wilson always said, “What the thinker thinks, the prover proves.”