We live in a time of great ingenuity, incredible scientific advances that extend life, repair damaged cells, modify food supplies, expand the limits of our universe and yet we’ve lost touch with the most important thing in life – the thing that keeps us all alive – our humanity. Consider the reality of our world today:
- The United States has the second highest child poverty rate worldwide
- The prison-industrial complex warehouses human beings like animals only to have them either released into society without any greater skills than which they arrived, or left to languish until their final breath
- We are warehousing and torturing animals in the name of increasing food supplies without a care for how that impacts the animals, the planet or our own health.
- We are destroying our planet, food and water supply
- Our corporations’ profits exceed reasonable needs while their employees cannot afford to put food on their tables
- 1% of the population owns 99% of the wealth
- We are buying and building bombs instead of supplying food, shelter, education, and health care
The list goes on and on but need I really say more. We seem to have arrived at a place where getting, achieving, taking and winning are more important than caring, concern, generosity and love. And I am left wondering, “when did this happen?”
We have forgotten that what each and every one of us craves more than the latest generation iPhone, car, tv, stereo, etc. is a life filled with meaning, a life of contribution, a life of connection and love — a life that matters.
We seem to have lost connection with our own hearts. Our hearts that beat and pulse the blood that moves through our body reminding us that we are alive. Our hearts that allow us to feel our vulnerability and rather than run in fear from it, embrace it because vulnerability is what gives our lives joy, meaning, and aliveness. Our hearts that allow us to tap into the depths of our grief and mourning because that is the birthplace of our healing, our ability to repair, and our capacity for transformation. Our hearts that allow us to reach across the divide to our fellow travelers on this planet with openness, compassion, curiosity and love.
Somehow, somewhere along the way on our journey of human evolution, we seem to have lost ourselves. We seem to have forgotten that rather than being corporations, rather than being robots, rather than caring solely about how much stuff we have or money we make, what we really care about is each other.
As I look around the world at the depth of human struggle and suffering, starvation, violence, homelessness, ecological destruction, poverty, and the like, what I know is that we are better than this. With all of our ingenuity, creativity, resources, and intelligence, if we remembered that what we humans want more than anything is to feel communion with others, we’d use our collective intelligence to solve the problems that really matter – homelessness, poverty, starvation, war, violence, ecological destruction and the like.
I yearn for the day when we choose to redirect our vast and innovative creative juices and open the floodgates to heaven. A heaven here on earth where everyone’s basic needs are met, the planet is once again thriving, and all of us experience the depth of human communion and meaning for which we deeply strive.
Will you join me in helping to build this heaven here on earth? There are many ways to do this and one is to join the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP). The NSP strives to embrace these principles and bring them to life with policies and practices you can implement individually, locally, nationally and globally. To learn more, go to: www.spiritualprogressives.org.
Superb article. I hope it will be widely read and heeded.
Sometimes it feels that we are living in a world of madness and sheer insanity, in deep denial about the many crises we face.
Among other major problems, the world is rapidly approaching a climate catastrophe, severe food, water, and energy scarcities, and other environmental disasters.
As president of Jewish vegetarians of North America, I want to point out that a major part of the responses to climate change and other environmental problems must be a major societal shift to plant-based diets.
Thanks Richard for your comments. I happen to agree with you that a vegetarian lifestyle is one step in the right direction. There are many things each of us can do individually,locally and globally and I am grateful for all the different things everyone is doing. Thanks for the work you do in the world to support building heaven here on earth.
In thinking about these things recently, i suspect that one impediment to most people’s making a commitment to change is the sheer magnitude of the problems, as well as each problem alone, not only as global in dimensions, but even nationally, sensing there’s just too much to accomplish to make a global, even a national shift at this point.
Connected to that is the deep feeling that that very highest goal, caring, heartfelt relationships, is far past attaining from the mental and emotional position most modern people find themselves….(ie, generation-long habituation to keep the hearts shut……making the work to open up extremely challenging, risky and even shaming without massive human support to rely on at any given time.) The deeply sensitive devotion needed from supporters is truly difficult to find, even in circles of people long-devoted to these lofty goals.
Nevertheless, i share your vision and belief that the potential for being all that we can be as humans DOES exist iniside us, even now……….How, despite the vast sweeps of despair and disgust worldwide, can we humans really make that shift……..barring some great miracle……I honestly wonder……
Shira ~ I agree that the magnitude of the problem and impede action. That is why I am hoping people will choose one thing that they can do to help create change. I am hearing both your deep yearning for the depth of support and connection this type of shift requires and your despair about the possibility of attaining that shift. Living in that space of tension and still choosing to embody the principles we yearn for is a great challenge and opportunity. Thank you for sharing from your heart.
Great! I’m in,
Great Peter – let’s get started!!