In the last post I commented on negativity when talking about problems and issues and also the use of interpretive techniques to get people to listen more attentively rather than just tuning out. The mass media has done a wonderful job in scaring us about a multitude of issues and even better about disempowering us with any solutions. That’s the negative, but the positive is that you, and everyone you know, has immense power and control at your fingertips if you choose to use it. The key word here is CHOOSE – yes, you have choice. It can take courage to make choices that will bring change. For most however, the unknown future is more fearful than the somewhat predictable rut of a future.
There are some things in the world we cannot change {at least not yet – Richard} – gravity, entropy, the speed of light, and our biological nature that requires, clean air, clean water, clean soil, clean energy and biodiversity for our health and well being. Protecting the biosphere should be our highest priority or else we sicken and die. Other things, like capitalism, free enterprise, the economy, currency, the market, ae not forces of nature, we invented them. They are not immutable and we can change them. It makes no sense to elevate economics above the biosphere. David Suzuki
Naysayers around in the world. Think about how you would really like to live your life and then think why you don’t. The world is topsy-turvy. Why do 99% of the people in the world give all their power to the 1%? Our whole system is set up to produce negativity that creates insecurity and lack of confidence. You are convinced by the mainstream (that is controlled by the hierarchy) that you are alone in this world, and especially in your desires for a just world. You come to believe that everything you need is just a little more money and a little more luck away – if only you just pray harder, it will come. As Suzuki says above, the modern world’s social system and order has been deliberately and carefully crafted to be the way it is currently – and it is all artificial. Most of your modern core beliefs are also artificial. Collective beliefs are all part of a consensus reality. I’m not saying anything substantially new here that isn’t in past posts on this blog (why we stay in the rut). There is a wealth of documented stories and research out there about how sustainability is taking hold in villages and towns all over the planet, but they are not making the mainstream.
When you make the effort to look at the more peripheral information on the fringes of the mainstream you will find an incredible amount of positive valid stuff alongside all the conspiracy material. A boom and a curse of the modern internet is that anyone can literally publish anything to the web. I hav spoken of this before as well and all I can say is be a savvy internet information user – be diligent in checking the validity of what you read. Don’t discount it because some troll from the mainstream disagrees with it. Triangulate your conclusions with other perspectives. Look for information that is logical and positive and check it with other search engines for similar perspectives. Are the sources valid? As an example, I once had to do a peer review of a scientific research paper by a sports scientist (?) making some broad new claims about a muscle building supplement that the reseacher claimed was metabolized by the body into toxic chemicals. It sounded good and was somewhat logical, but the conclusion was pure speculation without any biochemical lab evidence. There was only one test subject and the long paper had only 7 references that were ALL the authors own previous lay-articles (none of which had been peer reviewed). It is possible that the author was onto something that upset the sports supplement industry and was being deliberately sidelined, but as an investigator it is up to the researcher to lay out the evidence and then triangulate it with other sources. I declined the paper for publishing but offered up a long list of things the researcher could do to make the speculations substantial and valid to satisfy even my skepticism.
If you have a passion, I encourage you to follow it, even it makes you uncomfortable. That discomfort is fear of breaking out of the mainstream expectations. What is your passion? Are you living it or just dreaming it? If it is just a daydream that you do nothing about, then that’s all it will ever be – a dream. If you think that money is the most important thing in your life (usually not enough of it) and you aspire to have more of it to create your dream, then you have bought into the mainstream illusion, hook, line and sinker. Remember, money is how the hierarchy control you. If you truly desire to transform the world to a just world with sustainable living in harmony with the natural world, then start that first step. I have literally advised hundreds of students who had dreams that were being quashed by responsibility expectations from their family and friends (as part of the social norms). Frame your life with positive expectations and them be ready to adapt to whatever comes your way. Focus on a goal but don’t get uber-attached to it – allow yourself to fail and treat it as a positive lesson. Almost no one succeeds straight away, but being positive and pushing ahead with confidence gets you to your dream goal eventually.
The pain of regret always outweighs the pain from the fear of failure. What is your idea that will change the world? Out of chaos comes order. “Stay away from negative people, they have a problem for every solution.” Make wise choices that fit your dream, and then look for others that also positively frame your goals. Find the people that connect with your dream. An old joke says that ‘If you are an eagle and stay on the grounds with turkeys then you will not fly with the eagles.’ From a spiritual perspective, you have only one main goal in life and that is to live life as yourself and express your creativity – we are ALL creative when we let ourselves become so. How do you want to transform the world? Isn’t now a good time to begin?
Up next – how innovation with the natural world is already changing the world.
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