Improve Your Own Soul

“It would be nice if wisdom had such a quality that it could flow from one man who is full of wisdom to another man who has no wisdom, just as with two connected vessels water flows from one vessel to the other until the water level is the same in both of them,” Russian philosopher Leo Tolstoy wrote. “The problem is that to obtain wisdom, you must make an independent, serious effort of your own.”

Imagine the world we would live in if people heard some higher teaching, some nobler thought, and immediately made it part of their life. If people saw others doing the right things and, in turn, behaved the same. What a perfect world that would be, everyone getting along with each other. But it doesn’t work that way, and it never will.

There will be people who try to be better every day, who try to be kind, to be good, to grow, to learn, to do the right thing, and there will be people who simply aren’t interested.

Self-improvement, or the lack of it, is a personal journey. Wisdom can only be transferred to a certain extent, but it requires one’s own effort. It is a choice that each one of us makes.

If you are exposed to ideas, thoughts, knowledge that will help you grow, you have the freedom to decide if you take them or discard them. If you present the same ideas to someone else, it’s their choice; you can’t control them. You can only control yourself. So, focus only on yourself.

“Improve your own soul,” Leo Tolstoy continued, “and be confident that only in so doing can you contribute to the improvement of the larger society of which you are a part.”

Everyone is on a different spiritual journey, moving through life guided by their intuition, shaped by their environment, and molded by their past experiences. Don’t waste time trying to impose your views of the world on others. Always seek wisdom, concentrate on the improvement of your own soul, and let everyone else decide for themselves.

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