According to our present, insane culture… Everything is separate and the world was made for man to conquer, rule, and to exploit as he sees fit. And, that is why it is okay for a tiny minority of us to accumulate most of the wealth and resources, while billions of us struggle to provide ourselves with our most basic of needs pertaining to our very survival. And, that is also why it is okay for countries to wage war against each other over things like territorial disputes, racial, religious, or ideological differences, economic considerations, or a need to exploit resources. And, that is also why it is okay for corporations to reap insane profits from the exploitation of desperate and poor workers, and from the destruction of our precious forests and our other natural resources. And, that is also why it is okay to make the providing of health care all about profit, and to withhold it from those unable to pay the exorbitant prices. And, that is also why it is okay for huge multi-national corporations to make all of the most important decisions about how our world is to be ordered, utilizing profit as their main decision-making criteria.
Yet, according to reason and logic… And according to universally recognized spiritual truths… And now, according to modern physics… Everything is connected. What would a culture look like if it were based upon this reasonable, logical, spiritual, and scientific truth that everything is connected? Well, for one thing, it wouldn’t have the problems set out in the preceding paragraph. Nor would we be on the verge of planetary devastation through global warming and climate change. Our atmosphere, and our oceans, rivers and streams, would not be so terribly polluted. Our people would not have to worry about their basic needs being met. Our prisons would not be crowded to overflowing. And, our population would not be robbing and killing and sexually assaulting each other and anesthetizing itself with drugs and alcohol. Most of our problems would magically go away.
Why can I say this? Because, if our culture was based upon the truth that everything is connected, then each of our actions as individuals would arise from that basic reality. Our world would be re-ordered so that it mirrored our basic understanding of the connectedness of all things. All of a sudden, we would all become Responsible Members of the Community of Life on this planet.
The measuring stick I have devised which can be utilized to ascertain whether or not we have achieved our cultural shift is that we need to measure our progress in the following three areas…
FIRST… If we have succeeded in providing basic needs to all of the people on this planet.
SECOND… If we have stopped cutting down our last remaining forests.
And
THIRD… If we have at least made a serious effort to begin the process of ceasing to pollute.
Then, we will have successfully transformed out culture from an insane one to a rational, sane culture where humans have become Responsible Members of the Community of Life.
Please understand, I am not advocating that we give up our technological advances, or that we return to a primitive, hunter-gatherer lifestyle. On the contrary, I see plenty of potential for technology and innovation in a new, post-soft-landing connected culture where everyone understands the reality of the connectedness of all things.
The achievement of the providing of basic needs to all people everywhere, and the stopping of the cutting down of our precious forests could be achieved very easily. After we have achieved that all-important Critical Mass of people who understand, then all we would have to do is commit to doing these things. Pollution is the hard one. But, with a Critical Mass behind us, we could make real progress on the effort to stop pollution very quickly. It just might take a little while to succeed completely.
Think about it… Would it be possible for us to achieve these things within the framework of our present, insane culture that is based upon the premise that everything is separate? Absolutely not. The only way that any of these things is ever going to happen is as a result of a cultural revolution.
Don’t you feel a deep sense of responsibility to this beautiful little planet and to all of its diverse life forms, including our own?
Let’s make it happen! Let’s save the world!
