3 Ways to Change Your Environment and Expand Your Mind

A Prince named Siddhartha Gautama was raised in a kingdom of prestige and privilege. It is said that this young Prince was sheltered by his father from all of the sufferings of the world. Until the age of 29, this Prince had never been touched by death, he had never encountered a sick person, and it was unlikely that he ever felt misery at all. He had many beautiful wives and life was great.

But that all changed the day he wandered away from his empire and found himself on the streets mingling with commoners. They were poor, old, sick, and dying. Upon seeing this array of misfortune, the young Prince vowed to dedicate his life to helping people overcome suffering and delivering peace.

This Prince would become known as Budda, and his entire life changed the moment he encountered an environment unlike any he had ever seen. He was faced with stimulating newness and he experienced freedom from the harsh constraints of his Empire. Buddhism was birthed through his fantastic journey and now over 535 million people on Earth practice this religion- all because a new environment presented a sheltered man with a different perspective.

The power of a new environment can be monumental, as with the story of Budda, but it can also be simple. You don’t have to look for transcendence in order to see the world in a…