Excerpt #11 from my book, Interconnected, Interrelated & Interdependent, Like It or Not:
OUR EMERGING REALITY
We often hear that human nature, being what it is, cannot change.
Yet, while our base needs remain the same, it is true that if there exists one constant in our lives upon which we can rely, it is change.
It is ceaseless.
We are forever searching, evolving, and combining our countless and varied energies and talents in infinite ways.
In every field of endeavor, innovators of all persuasions are constantly introducing new discoveries.
Each of these then, in their turn, result in the spewing forth of another batch as the process pyramids upon itself.
In this manner, we generate a momentum for ourselves which, like a leaf at the mercy of the wind, is subject to change.
It is this momentum that becomes the agent for change as an increasingly aware humanity observes and reflects upon it and assesses its current direction.
It serves as the measure by which comparisons are drawn and decisions are made as we, like a troubled adolescent, struggle with our growth.
Consider the following observations on growth and change as found in Thomas Kuby’s doctoral dissertation on creativity:
“It’s been observed that if the last 50,000 years of human existence were divided into lifetimes of approximately 62 years each, there would have been about 800 such lifetimes.
“Of these, 650 were spent in caves.
Only during the last 70 lifetimes has it been possible to communicate effectively from one lifetime to another, as writing made it possible to do.
“Only during the last six lifetimes did masses of people see a printed word.
“Only during the last four has it been possible to measure time with any precision.
“Only in the last two has anyone anywhere used an electric motor, and the overwhelming majority of all natural goods we use in our daily life today have been developed within the present, the 800th lifetime.”
Kuby asks, as we all might, “What changes will the 801st lifetime introduce?”
Change commonly occurs as a result of a new awareness.
A profound one that is emerging today is that our world is figuratively growing smaller.
Armaments which threaten our very existence, increasingly rapid transportation systems, instantaneous communication, rapidly expanding populations, ominously diminishingresources, and a changing climate are all contributing factors.
As a consequence, among the young, a new paradigm is unfolding based upon a growing acknowledgement of our interrelatedness and interdependence, shared destiny, and mutual dependency.
What actions will we be prompted to take based upon this realization with which many aspects of our current lifestyles appear to be, not only out of sync but, contradictory to our interdependence?
Implicit in this awareness is the need to shift our current inward focus, which is on ourselves, outward toward an improvement in the quality of our relationships and interactions with others and with our environment.
In other words, to improve the quality of our lives, end our needless suffering, prosper together, and find peace, we need to live within the dictates and limitations of the reality in which we exist.
It is apparent that the notion of excessive self-interest is, ironically, a disservice to oneself within the parameters of this growing awareness.
It is equally apparent that our self-gains are maximized when an equilibrium is achieved between self and selfless concerns, when our obligations as a member of a larger whole are fulfilled, and when cooperation becomes a way of life.