Its a tough world we live in. Tough not necessarily in worldly goods, but in the general sense of security I must believe the early 21st century isn't doing so well. I am of course talking about the shootings in my own country, and the repeated terror attacks, with scores of people horribly murdered. That this world is full of darkness and that mankind can be horrible to itself is not new information, but we seem to be so much more aware of it these days.
Fear, as I covered in my first Sway presentation, is not conducive to goal creation or the pursuit of dreams. Getting your dreams accomplished isn't super high on the list when you're existentially afraid for your country, your kids, yourself. These trying times take us down Maslow's Hierarchy, and it is well known that we make poor decisions when operating in a place of fear.
Should we pursue our dreams when faced with such a world?
I think we have to, because this is where we are. Reality isn't going anywhere, and we can't cancel 2016, unfortunately. We have to deal with reality now if we are to avoid massive surprises later. So here's my three tips to keep driving to your dreams while the world seems to be falling apart:
1. Openness to Reality - Don't shy away from the news, but don't obsess either. My family doesn't watch TV much and this includes the news. News, if you haven't seen it recently, is like a horrible Facebook feed. Bad news story after bad news story, then a completely awkward switch to the sports and weather.
"Janice, 543 people died today after encountering yet another horror in our world... Now over to Sam for Sports and Weather!"
Today's 24 hr news cycle can overwhelm anyone. Things aren't going to "settle down" because that doesn't drive ratings. Chaos drives ratings, and crazy Internet posts, which brings me to point # 2...
2. We aren't there yet - Humanity is in the early birth pangs of modern global civilization You might think the Internet a crowded place, but billions of people are yet to even get on it. Think about just a 100 years ago - 1916. People were taking horses around. The car was known as the horseless carriage.
This is what we were driving. Oil lamps included!
In the US, Interior plumbing was still largely a novelty. Interior plumbing. We've come a long way with ideology as we have with technology, but the rate of change has scared people, and brought negative, fear based reactions to it.
People are used to be able to be among like minded people. Humanity used to have no way to mix ideologies before mass media. Every revolution of media has caused more interaction between cultures and that friction has risen because of it. There are those who absolutely think we all must die for simply living in the West. Now, for those who hold hate, its nearly impossible to hide. Hate and bigotry is being driven out of its shadows, and good-minded, loving people must call it out. We must crush it. But at the same time we must hold out hope that the Internet, this wonderful, awful creation, will eventually become an effective central nervous system. It connects us all, and we can now sense things we could not. The whole of humanity must wisely navigate to a future where our body becomes more healthy. It brings me peace to think that for the first time we have a much greater capacity as small "nerve cells" to share our pain with the whole system, since I believe we will find a way to make it better and better. But the Internet itself needs to feed love and light, and we need to get better at dealing with it.
3. Hate simply cannot win. Hate eventually eats itself. There's not enough fuel to feed the fire of hate, since eventually humans realize that the people they're fighting, the people they feel free to kill, are just like them. That God does not want them to kill. That we are all in this together, that we love our children, that we want a better life for them, and that we all have the same dreams and desires.
No matter how dark it gets I think about the greatness of men like MLK who saw through so much hate and retained their hope for humanity. We have come so far in 100 years, 200 years....lets acknowledge that love does indeed win.
4. Finally, I can't neglect the cornerstone of all this, at least for me, is my faith.
I feel that we're headed somewhere. Whether its the Noosphere or the Omega Point or something amazing, I feel it. I can feel the pull of God's love, and with its center, the need for me to put myself out there and provide value to others through love, friendship, and contribution of my gifts to the world.
Summary - Openness to reality, Understanding where we are as a civilization, Understanding that Love does dominate if we work at it, and having Faith in the God of Love are the ways that I get through the day.
But this article hasn't given you any practical steps, like action items. So here's one. Take a picture of something that makes you happy, even if it is from Pokemon Go. Draw something, write something, anything that brings light and love. Got a picture of your new puppy - post it! Wrote a great blog post? Share that sucker. Counter the darkness with light!
I hope this article will help you find your serenity in the storm, enough to carry on to live your best life.
- Joe
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