I feel as though I am in an unfortunate position in life in that I am smart enough to see that the way that we live as a species from day to day and conduct our affairs, the way that we treat each other and ourselves is foolish and wrong. However, I'm not smart or powerful enough to change or even make a large number of people aware of this condition. Not that I suspect that awareness is a major concern. I think that each of us who have well-meaning souls and hearts that care also have eyes to see and know deep down that much of what we do and believe is wrong. However, most of us on this planet have been living with this feeling of wrongness for our whole lives. We are unable to envision a different way of life or incapable of enacting an alternative even if we are clever or lucky enough to imagine a viable one. As the noose of our increasingly global culture of consumerism and tech-worship grows ever tighter, we are losing some essential element of humanity. A sense of wonder or connection to divinity or sense of...I don't know what. Just that something is missing from nearly everyone's life, most people are well aware of it but no-one wants to discuss it or even acknowledge it and that no-one really knows what to do about it.
We need a new hero, someone much smarter than I, to show us how to take another step in the right direction towards balance and enlightenment. Or we need thousands, even millions of people just like me who are willing to all acknowledge the problem and work together to break the old, tired ways and find the next step together. At some point in my life, years ago, I stopped believing in the future. I stopped really believing that the future existed or that it was a place I would want to see. I gave up on the future and lost all hope for humanity. I lost that hope and I think that in many ways my life has suffered for it. Now I'm hoping to hope again. This age of humanity is all but over. I want to hope for the new age! Break down walls and obliterate ancient and cruel beliefs. Have new ideas. Find and embrace new truths. Start trying to evolve into what's to come! We must do this or die. It is our choice. Our hope. Our lives and our world to save if we can! The future begins now if we want it, and really, what have we got to lose?
Once again you are hitting on themes that I am thinking a lot about myself -- it must be a thirty-something affliction. And for a long time I had lost hope as well. I used to think "our society is so f'd up; things will never change". Although when I realised that the type of society I'd like to live in couldn't possibly arise within my lifetime anyway, I figure the least I can do is to discuss my ideas on life and society and try to embody these opinions in my own life and hope that others do the same. "Be the change you wish to see in the world" and all that...
ReplyDeleteAnd change will eventually come, given that our current societal trajectory is not sustainable. And whether society changes itself on it's own accord or not, I have a feeling that some sort of collapse, be it societal, financial or environmental (or a little from all columns) is going to make that change not only obvious by necessary for survival. I think the next half century is going to be interesting to say the least. I just wish we stupid humans would learn from our mistakes and stop cycling through this societal build-up and collapse scenario that we've been through so many times in our history. Or maybe that is just an inevitable natural cycle, like the ebb and flow of the tides.... **Sigh**
well the seeds of a lot of these ideas in my brain came from you years ago, forgetting that copy of "Generation-X" at work on the 4-12 shift so that I picked it up and read it on the 12-8am shift :D
ReplyDeleteAnyway I think it *IS* possible in our lifetimes, although unlikely. Probably in the lifetimes of little babies being born today though. Although I can see it going fast. That is why I joined Twitter. Look at the Egyptians and then look at what's going on right now with the 99% thing on wall street. I know almost nothing about it (YET) but it's people crying out for change! That's something at least! Things can't go on THIS way forever...
here ya go...the future ;)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95KFYgDFe6E
from a...certain point of view...