Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Albert Einstein is one of the people in history that I really wish I could have known. Here is a quote from him that shows how amazing he truly was:
"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein
PLANET EARTH: BETTER or WORSE?
~ Is humankind's glass half empty or half full? Pessimists might feel well justified by the daily news of terrorism, genocide and war, corporate corruption scandals, government ineptitude, the deficit epidemic, and environmental disasters. The glass-full set puts its hope in an emerging world spirituality, borderless communications, a reinvigorated international peace movement, and astonishing advances in energy technology, medicine, genetics and space exploration.
In reality, the answer to the perennial doom vs. hope debate is that both are correct: these are still the best of times and the worst of times. Evil is afoot and the good inevitably rises to the occasion. It has always been this way and always will be. ~ We know all too well the dangers and liabilities of our time: In a shrinking world of diminishing resources and accelerated change, political and environmental mistakes made now may be magnified a thousand fold in the years to come. Yet that very same leverage applies to the possibility of inspired policy and innovative solutions uniting humanity to heal the world. The future is in our hands as never before. More than ever, informed choice matters tremendously. ~ The question then becomes not one of inevitable fate, but of our individual and collective powers to influence outcomes. Given the growing influence of democracy, mass communications, and the global economy, it is less about what we think will happen, and more about what we want to happen. The key to a successful tomorrow is enlightened action today. ~ But in a complex world of conflicting priorities, how do we discern right from wrong, smart choices from poor? Protecting national interests, for example, is universally accepted as the primary mission of government, yet these very same interests can conflict directly with world concerns. One good example is the issue of global warming and the fate of the Kyoto Treaty devised to deal with it. The current US administration has decided that the near- term cost of compliance is too great, and opted out of this multi-national agreement to protect the environment. Was this prudent, or simply expedient? The irony of the question was recently brought into stark focus when global warming was pronounced a real threat to national security by none other than that bastion of defense, the Pentagon. Evidently this conclusion hasn't moved the Bush administration, but the ultimate outcome remains inevitable: Sooner or later, for better or worse, we're all destined to share the fate of our planet. As the founder of Earth Day, Senator Gaylord Nelson said, the economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment. ~ One way to wisely navigate the moral minefield we find ourselves in is to analyze the role of ego in our position. In our present stage of social evolution, it is usually understood that extreme self-centeredness - though still all too common - is dangerous and dysfunctional. This is why we praise and at least attempt to emulate (if not vote for) selflessness. What we may not realize yet, however, is that humans tend to merely trade in their little egos for larger, group versions. Hence, an individual with an inflated ego may earn our disapproval, while at the same time we tolerate and even champion its larger manifestation, hyper-nationalism. We suffer the same fallacy of identity when our membership in a particular political party, religion, or commercial interest engenders the same old self-righteous, dualistic (unholistic), God-on- our-side, us-against-them mentality. ~ The antidote to this ego-trip writ large is to seek the wider context: the greater good, the global perspective, the long-term implications. For example, if for reasons of negligence or ignorance or arrogance (or perhaps a sense of impotence), you, your family, your company or your community may not yet be recycling paper, metals and other materials, consider what might happen if everyone behaved similarly. Imagine duplicating your choice by millions.. leading to massive shortages or incredible savings. Hopefully this would influence your actions for the better. In other words, consciously choosing optimism may very well foster positive results. Acting as if we can make a difference can become a self-fulling prophecy. ~ The Internet particularly is an excellent medium through which the impulse of intelligent cooperation for mutual benefit can percolate. It only remains for us to manifest it in the concrete world. An ideal time to begin (or reinforce) this global approach is Earth Day, April 22. Happy Earth Day! . - - Lonnie J. Brown, Ph.D. from Enlightenment Online
What is Enlightenment? Add your response to the never-ending survey by sending an email to: lonny@holistic.com
Enlightened artwork at NW Creations.com
"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein
PLANET EARTH: BETTER or WORSE?
~ Is humankind's glass half empty or half full? Pessimists might feel well justified by the daily news of terrorism, genocide and war, corporate corruption scandals, government ineptitude, the deficit epidemic, and environmental disasters. The glass-full set puts its hope in an emerging world spirituality, borderless communications, a reinvigorated international peace movement, and astonishing advances in energy technology, medicine, genetics and space exploration.
In reality, the answer to the perennial doom vs. hope debate is that both are correct: these are still the best of times and the worst of times. Evil is afoot and the good inevitably rises to the occasion. It has always been this way and always will be. ~ We know all too well the dangers and liabilities of our time: In a shrinking world of diminishing resources and accelerated change, political and environmental mistakes made now may be magnified a thousand fold in the years to come. Yet that very same leverage applies to the possibility of inspired policy and innovative solutions uniting humanity to heal the world. The future is in our hands as never before. More than ever, informed choice matters tremendously. ~ The question then becomes not one of inevitable fate, but of our individual and collective powers to influence outcomes. Given the growing influence of democracy, mass communications, and the global economy, it is less about what we think will happen, and more about what we want to happen. The key to a successful tomorrow is enlightened action today. ~ But in a complex world of conflicting priorities, how do we discern right from wrong, smart choices from poor? Protecting national interests, for example, is universally accepted as the primary mission of government, yet these very same interests can conflict directly with world concerns. One good example is the issue of global warming and the fate of the Kyoto Treaty devised to deal with it. The current US administration has decided that the near- term cost of compliance is too great, and opted out of this multi-national agreement to protect the environment. Was this prudent, or simply expedient? The irony of the question was recently brought into stark focus when global warming was pronounced a real threat to national security by none other than that bastion of defense, the Pentagon. Evidently this conclusion hasn't moved the Bush administration, but the ultimate outcome remains inevitable: Sooner or later, for better or worse, we're all destined to share the fate of our planet. As the founder of Earth Day, Senator Gaylord Nelson said, the economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment. ~ One way to wisely navigate the moral minefield we find ourselves in is to analyze the role of ego in our position. In our present stage of social evolution, it is usually understood that extreme self-centeredness - though still all too common - is dangerous and dysfunctional. This is why we praise and at least attempt to emulate (if not vote for) selflessness. What we may not realize yet, however, is that humans tend to merely trade in their little egos for larger, group versions. Hence, an individual with an inflated ego may earn our disapproval, while at the same time we tolerate and even champion its larger manifestation, hyper-nationalism. We suffer the same fallacy of identity when our membership in a particular political party, religion, or commercial interest engenders the same old self-righteous, dualistic (unholistic), God-on- our-side, us-against-them mentality. ~ The antidote to this ego-trip writ large is to seek the wider context: the greater good, the global perspective, the long-term implications. For example, if for reasons of negligence or ignorance or arrogance (or perhaps a sense of impotence), you, your family, your company or your community may not yet be recycling paper, metals and other materials, consider what might happen if everyone behaved similarly. Imagine duplicating your choice by millions.. leading to massive shortages or incredible savings. Hopefully this would influence your actions for the better. In other words, consciously choosing optimism may very well foster positive results. Acting as if we can make a difference can become a self-fulling prophecy. ~ The Internet particularly is an excellent medium through which the impulse of intelligent cooperation for mutual benefit can percolate. It only remains for us to manifest it in the concrete world. An ideal time to begin (or reinforce) this global approach is Earth Day, April 22. Happy Earth Day! . - - Lonnie J. Brown, Ph.D. from Enlightenment Online
What is Enlightenment? Add your response to the never-ending survey by sending an email to: lonny@holistic.com
Enlightened artwork at NW Creations.com
