Creating A Better World Together

An Opinion On Turning The Lead Of Our Modern Society Into Tomorrow's Gold

I woke up this morning just like any other weekday; I got up with the family as my oldest two children were getting ready for school. I said good morning to my family and plopped down on the couch. My circadian rhythm has been thrown off lately. Two nights prior to this morning, I didn’t get much more than 2 hours of sleep scattered in 20 minute chunks. My maladaptive tendencies scream that there’s something wrong with me and I have to take a second and remind them that I am fine and just going through changes, as most of the world is, and that I’m feeling it.

That last sentence is an understatement; the world seems to be burning, yet when I look out my window it looks beautiful. I feel this is a direct result of what could be called “modern living”, of which I am also a participant of at times. Being exposed to constant crisis scenarios online is not normal for us as creator beings. Everything we take in builds our world. Despite knowing this, it seems nearly impossible to avoid getting caught up in the 24/7 news cycle in some way. On one hand, being informed is important when it comes to issues that can affect the lives of innocent people and our ways of life. On the other, it can be extremely draining and bad for our mental health. There needs to be a balance here that is not currently found in the modern American lifestyle. This is what I mean when I say “modern living”. We’re stuck between the pier and the incoming boat with full-body swimming cramps; to get out of this in time is going to take a lot. Luckily, awareness is the first step to positive change.

I made the mistake of jumping online first thing in the morning, I know, terrible habit (like I said, I’m at fault at times too). I came across the recent viral video of a Marine protesting at Capitol Hill and it bothered me. What disturbed me most was seeing how unresponsive and drone-like the politicians at the front of the room were. It was like we as the public don’t even exist to them anymore. It was very dystopian-like and downright creepy. This is as far as I will take the political talk in this article, but I bring this up for a reason. The booming of the internet age held great promise to usher in a greater sense of connection between previously separated parts of the world. For the first time in recorded history, we can tap into the internet and see what is happening nearly anywhere. While initially this held great promise of grandeur, it has now become a tool of social engineering; one of the most effectively diabolic ones in recorded history. It is a tool of distraction, directed advertisement, and convenience in the hands of the despondent.

Not only are these kinds of tactics so deeply engrained as normal to the generations who don’t know life without screens, but there are now multiple industries built upon being online. This makes business easier, and downright possible for some that it would be impossible without. It can be a huge economic, social, and literary tool for positive growth when implemented properly. It has made many, many peoples lives much better in various ways, and I don’t miss the irony in that this article wouldn’t exist without it. Don’t get me wrong, there are benefits. That being said, in a country with a growing dependency problem in various areas, people now depend on being logged on for their financial wellbeing. This makes avoiding “bad news” even more difficult, especially when its advertised.

It is slow suicide to the creative soul to have to participate within a society that depends on silencing the soul in order to survive. Let me be clear: I do not feel the internet and all of its functions are inherently “bad”. But, I do feel the constant exposure to terribly negative things contributes to an increase in highly negative world views. Our thoughts and beliefs build our reality, and while the negative needs to be dealt with, I feel the constant exposure is a big contributor to the global issues we see facing humanity right now. We are now nearing seamless connection with the shock and horrors of the world, motivated by monetarily incentivized clicks, where the most attention gathered is fostered by human destruction. Markets are now available to make bets on war. We are seeing the shadow of humanity being revealed through the brightening of the light. These are the aspects of our world and its people that society as a whole has refused to deal with or even acknowledge, and as Jung said:

I brought up a lot of negative aspects of our society, but I’m not one to neglect a way out.. so, what do we do with this mess? We, as a species, have ignored the underlying causes of what contributes to the horrors of war, violence, and greed. Our comfortable ways and countless means of escape have caused the majority of populations that could do something about this to not do anything at all. Because of these maladaptive behaviors, the worst of the worst have manipulated their ways into the top portions of society and created a system of rules to not only help keep them there, but to keep others down and too overwhelmed with their system to be able to do anything about it.

The solution to this starts at home, within ourselves. Each and every one of us need to use these terrible things happening in the world as fuel to look within and do a moral inventory: Are you willing to see these things you’re seeing on the news happen in your own communities? If nothing changes, these things will come, simply because of universal law. Once we look inside ourselves and clean house, we need to do the same thing within our communities. This is not done with fire and brimstone, but with love and grace. We need grace because sometimes it takes tough love to get the message through; grace helps us remain centered and loving.

Next, we need to make a way to see more positive aspects of humanity and community in our daily lives. We need to experience these things with our five senses, and implement them in our daily lives as a way to combat the digital onslaught of fear being exposed to us on a daily basis. These can be actions as little as holding a door open, buying someone a coffee, or even just a sincere hello and authentic connection through conversation. I feel the more we do this organically and honestly, the more grounded and balanced individuals will start to feel. This, with most people, should bring about more empathy and compassion for themselves and others, along with a calling to better themselves and things they care about.

Supporting your local communities keeps money local, and the ones that can do the most with that money at “entry level” will be the artists, musicians, artisans, and entrepreneurs. These members of society are naturally-inclined to live a more conscious and connected lifestyle, as to create takes connection with imagination, and imagination is consciousness. Hopefully, with more connection, the more cooperation is had at this level, but remember this only works if people work on themselves first. Shop at local farm stands or local and employee-owned grocers. Hopefully with more attention on grocer monopolies fixing prices, small grocers will receive more support. With diligent shopping techniques like spreading out where we buy groceries, we can help to keep more resources local, and after all, money is only a tool to acquire resources.

When an individual does something that ignites the loves and passions of the soul, and that soul is in harmony with itself, positive change comes as a result. Do things that make you feel like a child again. If you had a tough childhood, be the adult your inner child needed and tend to your old wounds. Heal your inner child and become the change you want to see in the world. Attend more art fairs and festivals, go to more local shops instead of department stores and get to know the owners and employees. Spend cash when possible. If “high prices” keep you from mom-and-pop shops, maybe ask yourself if you really need to buy so many things, or if maybe a lesser amount of higher-quality items are required. Remember, if you were born in the last 70 years, you’ve been brainwashed into consuming garbage. Stop treating yourself like a landfill and start treating yourself like a treasure.

As time goes on and the more people do this work, the more it will naturally grow; like a pond ripple. No one person can do absolutely everything, but every single individual can do something. What you can do will be revealed to you along the way, as cleaning house tends to reveal our true selves, our likes and dislikes, and our willpower. The more we build up the natural-born creators, thinkers, and doers, of our communities and the more we keep our resources local, the faster we can build our communities. The more widely this is adopted, the greater the scale of change will be.

I think, or at least I hope, we’ve come to realize that the ideology of modern politicians will not save us. It is built upon division and control. Ultimately at this point in time, most look at us as a resource for extraction. Our modern system runs on controlling others, and enforcing this control through violence. This system is destined to fail. We need to come together as a collective of communities to shape change from within our country, not by coming together to produce more violence and pain upon those we see as enemies. We need to create parallel-systems that are based upon cooperation and uplifting one another instead of control and dominance. There needs to be alternatives to being a butt-munch.