The best articulation I’ve seen in some time of the ‘personal change vs social change’ false dichotomy:
This experience reminded me of one of my favorite quotes
written by a monk in 1100: ‘When I was a young man, I wanted to
change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world,
so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change
the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the
town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
‘Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is
myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed
myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and
I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could
have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the
world.’