So here we are reading and writing articles on a yoga blog. We discuss hot topics, pair up cool photos with provocative headlines and feed our own ideas about how yoga makes the world go round.

Meanwhile (insert tragic hunger and poverty statistic here).

Sure, we are the coolest site in town (wink)…but so what? What is point of a million swirling words when you are reading them (or I am writing them) from the couch?

photo credit: Katherine Squier

Maybe I should convince you to never sign on to Yoga Modern again and instead choose some life altering course that will change the world. Maybe I should define what yoga looks like “off the mat” and urge you to go forth. Maybe I should tell you to get your asana on the mat in the first place instead of watching your favorite celebriyoga do jump through’s and arm balances on YouTube.

But I can’t do that. And it is has nothing to do with my contract or my lack of persuasive abilities.

You have heard the phrase, “you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?” and when you do you probably either roll your eyes or you feel really guilty. Here you are, reading this article, maybe even contributing a comment or a thought in response, but you have never volunteered in a prison, you can’t afford to visit South Africa and you gave the person driving in front of you the finger on your way to yoga class yesterday.

We all know what that overused phrase is trying to communicate: talking about something doesn’t mean a damn thing.

photo credit: stevendepolo

Wait, what?

Since when did ideas, discussion, stories and debate lose karmic value?

The assumption that words lack value in creating healing and redemption paralyze us from the power we perform with the very act of sitting down to read an article, or talk with a friend or write a poem.

I want to suggest that in the scheme of making the world a better place, words and ideas are the source of nearly all we have to offer. Whether its education in the fields of economics and business, or the art of storytelling and song, ideas have power. The actions we produce are often limited by our bodies, our reach, our time and our energy. However, the ideas we spawn and the conversations we provoke have viral effects on the communities and systems around us.

But the point is not to flip the comparison and prove that words are better than actions. The point is that there is no difference between the words you speak and the actions you perform. It is not that your words magically cast a spell that make everything you say come true. But it kind of is like that.

We humans are chronic manifesters. We imagine the world as we want it and sooner or later, it happens. We are also social manifesters. Rarely does one person’s dream or ideal come true. It takes a community, a collective of minds dreaming together to create the societies we long to have. This happens with technological development and it happens with genocide. It takes a community for action to take root.

And how does a community know which action to perform? Communication. Stories, blog posts, novels, conversations and tweets.

There are plenty of instances in which our fear and insecurities paralyze or inhibit our manifestation. If you have never given money to a non-profit or stopped to talk to homeless woman on the corner, it is a good practice to ask why, to invite the fear to show itself so that with tenderness you can disarm its power. Most of us live with huge gaps of fear between the words we speak and the actions we perform. That is why is feels like words and actions are different things. But if, like gentle warriors, we can face that fear with courage, our words and actions melt together as one, creating a synthesis of life altering force that becomes unstoppable.

So keep reading. When you feel something resonate, pass it on to the people around you. Create a network of ideas and conversations around you that will be the seeds for evolution and change. Those seeds are already growing, whether you know it or not.

Now, I know there is at least one thing in here that created either resonance or dissonance for you. So, speak up and keep the conversation going.