About three weeks ago, I had a problem getting Netflix on my laptop. I’ve been a Netflix customer for a very long time. An interesting thing happened as a result of not being able to watch movies. To my great joy, I rediscovered the world of TED Talks and the enormous amount of inspiration that comes from the people who present them.
It is impossible to watch a TED Talk and not be educated and uplifted. I’ve been learning a great deal, most of which is focused on archaeology, a great love of mine. In one talk, Greg Anderson, a historian, talks about what Ancient civilizations can teach us about reality. He has many brilliant observations; I highly recommend watching his talk. It was an enormous eye-opener about how people move through life in our culture.
Anderson said that “we have imperiled the future of the planet, for the past 300 years with Genocide, Mass Exploitation, Industrial Servitude, two disastrous World Wars, Holocaust, Mass Extinction, Global Warming, Factory Farming, Nuclear War and Environmental Degradation.” This is an enormously long list; and a lot to take in. But, if we are truthful, we must admit that Greg Anderson is absolutely correct. All of these things occurred and they did not need to happen!
It is probably safe to say that the mindset that led to many of these tragedies was rooted in ego, personal power and profit. The ego is an enormous force that does not usually end up serving ‘the good.’ It needs to be tamed, quelled, held at bay. If left to itself, the ego will run amok and get so large that it will spin out of control. This is what we are seeing on our planet right now, many large egos spinning out of control.
Anderson continues to say that, “We are destroying our Earth, we are destroying each other and we are destroying our future.” The obvious question must be asked, Why would anyone consciously choose to do these things, when they are part of the world they are destroying? Perhaps the operative word here is ‘conscious!’
This relentless pursuit of power needs to be replaced with a much more gentle way of living. We need to show kindness, understanding and compassion to each other. This is how we will transform life on our planet.
I will share a quote from an article I wrote in 2019, for the Bennington Banner, called A Turning Point in History. “We are now seeing, on a grand scale, the ugly truth of what happens when people are unconscious and money is put first.” It still applies.
The way I see it, our focus needs to be on Humanity and kindness, not on profits and greed. Focusing on the later, creates a large amount of suffering, for countless people and for the Earth. Fortunately, it is almost Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. Fifty-five years later, we still need to hear and heed many of Martin’s profoundly important messages for our world. I must ask: When will we learn? When will we learn?