Zoom Out
Imagine a globe; now picture little creatures crawling all over it. If you saw those creatures growing in numbers, fighting each other, and dying of viruses, would that not worry you?
That's us. Are you worried?
If you're not, then I envy you. I try to tread lightly, but recently, it's felt heavy. It's not a dark or depressing weight by any means, but a burden nonetheless.
I can't complain, though; I'm actually one of the fortunate ones living in our time right now. I've been able to stay healthy, active, social, financially stable, curious, and mostly sane. I'm also grateful to be able to eat or drink whatever I want, whenever I want. Sometimes I wonder if my life is the true definition of freedom, but that's for another time.
My point is, even though I have all these things going for me, it's impossible to not feel the weight of what's happening to our species and planet. Hence, I believe we're all in this together.
Zoom In
Think about it this way, until now, our species did not have international access at our fingertips 24/7. Now, we're living in a time where many things are happening everywhere simultaneously, and we're able to consume and spread it constantly. Evolutionarily, our brains are unprepared for this. We're accustomed to smaller tribes of a few hundred people, where every day doesn't feel like a World War is looming.
As we've started to notice, however, is that nature is all-powerful. Eventually, the infinite vastness of the universe will auto-correct, and things might reach some sort of equilibrium.
With that in mind, can we embrace a responsibility to promote well-being for the sake of future generations? Shouldn't we encourage people to accept diversity and celebrate similarities? Because that's who we are; we're the same, but different. We're different. But we're the same.
If you zoom out and think about the time and space continuum, you'll notice we're hardly a flicker. Why not make it a dope-ass flicker? Why are we holding ourselves back?
Zoom Together
I'm not proposing a specific solution; I'm asking a question. Am I the only one who feels this way, or can you relate? Sometimes, I feel like I'm stranded on this thought island by myself, just me and my "idealistic" philosophies. But I don't consider them idealistic; I believe they are very realistic; we just have to want it. Do you want it?
I want it. I’ll try to be a better person. I’ll be more patient and come from a place of love when dealing with situations that conflict with my belief system. I don’t want to take sides; titles are dividing and presumptuous. If a system promotes division, hatred, or claims it’s the superior narrative, then it’s not serving me. I want to be all-accepting and all-loving.
The goal isn't perfection; it's any positive percentage as often as possible. Even if we're 0.1% better on most days, we're making a positive impact on this planet and all of us animals that live amongst it. That tiny improvement will compound greatly over time.
I'll continue working on myself and sharing ideas that I find valuable. For example, I have some works in progress about implementing healthy systems.
Healthy systems. Healthy mind. Healthy body. Healthy psychology. Healthy life. Healthy planet.
It's hard. I've tried it. It's easy to get passionate about topics and try to convince people, but I'd rather lead by action. When I say lead, I mean being thoughtful and intentional with decisions.
Active choices = leader. Passive life = follower.
So, I’ll ask again: am I on this thought island alone, or are you with me? We could accomplish so much for our species and our planet if we came together. There are better ways to solve problems than running, killing, or pretending these overarching issues don't exist.
Imagine a globe again. Now picture the most joyful version of you; how would that person want the world to look? Start working towards that version; I'll do the same.
Let's be the generation that future humans look at and are inspired by.
LMK if you feel me.
This life approach isn't for everyone; so please share this with those you think would appreciate this sentiment.