Here we stand. Nearing the end of a year tagged ‘2022’, yet one that has followed many thousands of years for our species.
A tiny fraction of time in the grand scale of our planet and harbouring galaxy, yet momentarily, the only time we have.
What could we do with it?
Simply existing is probably the first thing… Sometimes that’s hard enough as it is.
While we have removed ourselves from the survival game of our cohabitant animal species, challenges have nevertheless arisen that thwart our ability to survive.
Pandemics, floods, fires, recessions, inflation, unemployment, homelessness, famine, depression, unrest, war, abuse…
Many of us don’t survive.
Those of us who do escape existential threats then fill our time with sleeping, eating, working, maintaining relationships, socialising, relaxing, stressing out, working out, burning out, raising children, swiping, helping people, learning things, regretting things, liking things, arguing, loving, whinging, dreaming, being… you get the idea.
It can be a busy schedule.
Why the hell would we want to add anything to it? We’re totally consumed as it is.
Because, every so often we get a glimpse, an insight or simply a notion of something more.
Sometimes detrimental events trigger these, such as pandemics, terror acts, war or abuse. Sometimes it’s fanciful stories, scientific exploration, or our own wandering daydreams.
It’s the notion that we can, and probably should in some way, improve more, do more, be more.
Through the previous articles we have built a baseline landscape of our existence that perceives us as:
- A group of tangible things with the awareness and abilities to contemplate past, present and future instances and intentionally act to effect change.
- Potentially the first civilisation of conscious energy-interacting entities to have gotten this far on an evolutionary journey.
- Holding the capability to intentionally adapt and adjust our thinking and behaviours.
- Standing at a point in time with a choice to lead by example for ourselves and any civilisations that may also emerge from an evolutionary gauntlet.
But where on earth do we start to extend our civilisation out to another stage of existence?
Or rather, where can we start to grow or change, and move towards a more advanced or stronger form. (Which, incidentally is a definition of the word: ‘development’)
Well actually, that’s really easy.
Imagine it, dream it, discuss it, challenge it, test it… fail it and try again.
The first few have been done extensively in our fiction as well as scientific hypotheses.
Our research, experiences, data, books, movies and songs are filled with information and ideas on what an aware, knowledgeable, understanding and advancing civilization looks like and how it behaves.
- They have thoroughly studied and understood the universe and its constituents.
- They harness and adapt energy with minimal impacts to environments.
- They have conquered their own emotion and logic ensuring conflict results in learning and growth and not harm or death.
- They have no need for wealth or power as it is meaningless to their collective purpose and individual experiences.
- They have seriously awesome technology and are not bound by laws of spacetime.
- They hold no prejudices towards race, species, or any energy-interacting entities.
- They preserve and nurture life.
- They guide and inspire.
- They make a difference.
Alas, they are not here…
But we are.
And the stage couldn’t be prepared any better than what it is TODAY.
- We have the awareness.
- We have the dreams and desires.
- We have the data and knowledge.
- We have the capability. And,
- We certainly have the time to try, fail, succeed and reinforce.
(Which, incidentally are the core components of organisational ‘change-management’ practices)
But we are not the whole civilisation, we are but mere individual people.
What could we possibly contribute that leads to such a large scale impact?
As in nature, from little things, big things can grow.
To start, we can acknowledge our individual capacity for restricting our own potential through learned helplessness and limiting beliefs. (Check both those terms out if not familiar with them.)
“The world and universe are soooo massive I have no impact on it.”
“Why bother, it won’t make any difference; I could die tomorrow.”
“I’m a normal, caring, unaggressive person; why should I change anything?”
“We’ve already destroyed the planet; what’s the point?”
“People don’t change; there’s nothing I can do.”
“Free-will might not even exist; it’s out of my hands.”
Regardless of the validity of these statements, they are irrelevant.
What is relevant, is what we choose to do with the existence we have.
For arguments’ sake, let’s assume our tangible bodies are just biological vehicles for our personal experience.
What would you choose from:
- Cruise around with everyone else and fulfil the schedule described above.
- Crash into others and see what impact you have on them.
- Contribute towards something more from our existence.
- Add another option…
If the 3rd option is included in your selection there are some things we now know that individuals can do to make a difference and take our collective development as a group of people further.
As individuals we can:
- Learn about how our vehicles actually work: specifically the functions of our brains and ultimately how we behave.
- Question what we think is true about ourselves, others and the world we’re in… regularly.
- Question why we think in the ways we do, and what are impacts of those ways of thinking.
- Inform ourselves with factual data and information from all available perspectives.
- Look to find and understand different perspectives from people outside our circle.
- Observe how we talk and what we say to people.
- Identify what impacts those behaviours have on those people.
- Observe how we listen to other people.
- Identify if we are just listening to their words, or understanding what those words mean to them.
- Observe how we react and behave in different situations.
- Determine if that behaviour is beneficial for ourselves and those impacted by it.
- Identify what beliefs, attitudes or biases influenced that behaviour.
- Questions if those beliefs, attitudes and biases are still valid: based on factual data and information and new ways of thinking.
- Discuss and share our failures, success and learning from the above with others.
- Dream and imagine what we might do differently, and try it.
Such contributions can lead to impacts including:
- Building trust and safety between people.
- Ensuring the most advanced regions of our brains are not restricted by unnecessary threats.
- Disentangling our beliefs and biases that do not serve the development of ourselves and others.
- Disengaging the power that extreme polarisation of perspectives has on limiting our growth.
- Capitalising on the power that diversity of perspectives and experiences has for our growth.
- Establishing communication behaviours that result in common understanding, not assumption.
- Nurturing safe environments where we can stretch, challenge and support our collective development: i.e. moving towards more advanced or stronger forms.
We previously asked: How should we behave to lead a way forward? And, how willing are we to do it?
There’s certainly enough inspiration and data already available to spark our thinking on how we might behave. Our willingness though, can be an elusive whisper on the wind.
That’s because it needs purpose.
And it’s through understanding and identifying our potential individual contributions and impacts that we may just discover a ‘purpose’ beyond our work and recreational desires… a reason for existing.