"The reason that people do things, especially heroic or major things, things that take a lot of effort, is because they care." — Dave Gray from Liminal Thinking.
Knowledge is not enough to get us to act. Neither is understanding. We all know enough about many important issues that humanity is facing. We also understand that something has to be done.
Yet, we don't act.
And I'm not talking about the leaders of the world.
I'm talking about personal actions, like making changes in our everyday lives.
We will act only once we begin to care. When the external challenge, whatever it is, will feel personal to us.
Take climate change. Only when a forest burning will hurt like a punch in the guts, we'll feel that we have to do something.
Even if it's a tiny thing.
We must care.
And we care about something when we love it.
So, if you try to convince people that they have to change, you won't get far. You have to make them fall in love. With nature, life, humanity, a cause.
However, to do so, you have to love them.
"We live in this world when we love it." – Rabindranath Tagore