'The point, however, is to change it.'

Choosing to resist demands more from a person than you might realize. It requires recognizing an existing injustice or wrongdoing and having the will and strength to act upon that recognition—transforming thought into action. Yet, resistance demands something further: imagination. Identifying and acting on a problem isn’t enough; one must also envision an alternative, picturing a better version of the world than we currently inhabit.

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it," said Marx. This is why those who resist are a step ahead of those who stop at thinking, writing, and analyzing. Recognizing the problem and understanding its roots is essential, but acting on it requires tremendous energy and imagination beyond those of learned men and women 'who prophesize with their pens.'

Living and breathing in this world is something we often take for granted. This morning, you probably didn’t even stop to consider that you woke up alive and well. For many, that isn’t their reality. Every day is another Sisyphean task—a struggle to change their world and their fate against forces of greed and hate that seem insurmountable. The desire for change, the will to make it happen, comes from many sources. But the courage to envision a better world, I believe, springs from something essential and uniquely human. To dream of change is, at its core, to be human

Don’t stop at that gut feeling that something is wrong or that oppression (or crisis) looms overwhelmingly over people worldwide. Start talking, start writing. Dare to comment, to share. Take it further—join a movement, take to the streets.

Raise your voice.

Show compassion and contempt.

Share love, share rage.

Dare to dream of a better world.

Dare to imagine.

Dare to resist.