Excerpt #22 from my book, Interconnected, Interrelated & Interdependent, Like It or Not:
A NEW REALITY BASE — RESTRUCTURING
That which separates us is of our own creation.
What we have created, we can undo.
As both our understanding and our acceptance of each other broadens, we will be able to restructure and reorder our basis for decision making, able to heal old wounds, unite us in our efforts, and enable us to move our society in a more constructive and stable direction.
To do so, however, is going to involve significant changes.
To begin with, we must acknowledge the critical situation in which we find ourselves and agree that a new approach is essential.
This is the same transition from out of denial to acknowledgement of a problem that individuals who seek change must go through.
Our emphasis must shift from that which we thought to be infinite, expandable, and consumable forever, to that which we now know is limited and requires conservation if we are to sustain ourselves and our civilization.
Our consumption patterns must be modified, and our critical paths of planning adjusted for the long-term.
Our representatives in government must begin conducting themselves more like statesmen and stateswomen concerned with the next generation, and less like politicians focused on the next election.
The lasting peace and security that we seek is not to be derived from the likes of some impenetrable antimissilescheme that, like other sophisticated military hardware, is soon antiquated by more highly evolved technology.
Lofty aspirations such as peace and security, unlike microchips, do not lend themselves to invention any more than morality does to legislation.
The serenity we seek can only emanate from the core of our humanness and our understanding of reality and the behavior it requires to maintain equilibrium.
It is here where the restructuring must occur.
Our behavior must harmonize with the clear picture of reality that is emerging in our midst.
To deny this growing awareness is to continue to subvert our future.
The foundation of our new reality base for decision making would be comprised of the components oneness, diversity, interconnectedness, interrelatedness, individuality, and interdependence.
It is to acknowledge that all that exists is an integral part of a larger whole consisting of an infinite number of diverse, dynamic, essential, and related parts.
The optimization and ultimate survival of each part is dependent upon the unique and equally significant contribution of every other part.
In the comprehension of these components lies the basis for the emergence of sound behavior and decision-making.
From understanding the oneness, one begins to respect that of which we are a mere part, albeit a significant one.
From the recognition of the advantages of our rich diversity emerges an acceptance, and one day — hopefully — an enthusiasm for our differences.
From the knowledge of our undeniable interrelatedness and interdependence comes fruitful cooperation in lieu of divisive competition.
In the realization of the many benefits that are derived from the free expression of our individuality lies the key to equality.
And finally, out of an awareness of our interdependence emerges a responsibility towards ourselves, each other, and our environment.
The reality base is simple, as it should be, yet profound in its potential and in its implications for healing, transformation, stability, and sustainability.
Adopted, it will begin to eliminate confrontation and encourage acceptance.
It will reduce competition and promote cooperation.
It will end stalemates and produce resolutions.
As this behavior is in harmony with the larger context in which we exist, it will enable us to achieve the sustainable peace, freedom, and security we so desire.
Right living is about constructive behavior here and now; it’s not about worshipping and defending dated and divisive ideologies and theologies.