Friday, October 30, 2009

Where are we going?

So far, humanity really hasn't set a "vision" for where it wants to go or what it wants to become. Defining our own trajectory may be exactly what we need to propel us out of our present reality, which is powered by mass unconscious consumption, to a reality based on conscious creativity and grounded in a deeper sense of purpose.

We've been frantically consuming material resources for many centuries now, because in some part of our unconscious mind we recognize that consumption is part of what we humans have been chartered to do. Everything we observe in the universe consumes something and transforms it into something else; that's part of the grand recycling/evolutionary process of creation. Nothing gets wasted and everything eventually gets changed.

I suspect that what we've failed to realize so far is that we're not really here to consume increasingly more stuff until we deplete our natural resources and die off; we're here to consume just enough resources to enable us to live comfortably and sustainably while we create new life experiences for ourselves, which we can then consume and transform into higher wisdom. The nice thing about consuming experiences and transforming them into wisdom is that there isn't a top stop on growth anymore when wisdom becomes our focus. Consciousness doesn't take up any more room or require higher caloric intake as it becomes smarter. Willful ignorance uses just as many calories as does wisdom! In fact, the wiser we become about our world, the more likely it is we'll require fewer resources to function more effectively within it.

The key then is for us to be fully present to whatever experiences we're having and learn as much as possible from them. Don't sleepwalk through an experience while daydreaming about where you'd rather be or what you'd rather be doing - HAVE each experience fully and richly so that whatever it has to teach becomes yours to know. To do so requires courage, an openness to new ideas and the patience to "ride out" even the most difficult of experiences, while trusting that there is always something more to be learned from wherever we happen to find ourselves in life.

I'm so looking forward to seeing what evolves as humanity slowly opens its eyes to the need to set a course for our shared future. The process of "coming together" around a shared set of values and ideals may not be easy to undergo, but I suspect it's necessary for us to make the next leap in human evolution. It's time then, for us to begin talking about who we are, why we think we're here, and where we'd like to go as we journey toward the future.

I encourage you to think about these things whenever you're communicating or interacting with others, because the young people who encounter you will likely be searching for some greater sense of themselves. What are your words and actions saying to them about humanity, about its strengths and weaknesses, about its possibilities and problems, about your beliefs about us - and therefore about THEM? Even as you explore your own beliefs through your thoughts, words and deeds, know that what you are and do has the power to influence the thoughts and feelings of others. Take responsibility for your messages by anchoring yourself in your deepest truths about who you really are and what you're really capable of being, doing and creating. Express and BE that to the best of your abilities. Then you can rest assured that whatever you're bringing into the world and to the minds of other people will be a universal truth - because you ARE the universe in person.