What if…
We cared as much about other people as we do about our pets?
We spent the time we spend researching celebrities and athletes figuring out what makes our kids tick?
We enjoyed the success of others as much as we enjoy our own success?
We stopped praying for solutions to problems we’ve caused and start fixing them ourselves?
We believed the only way to get the Good Stuff of human life is to help others get it first?
We believed that people would manifest the best parts of themselves if they had the opportunity to do so?
Our culture didn’t reinforce that sticking to the status quo is good and creative thinking is bad or dangerous?
We trusted before we distrusted people?
We didn’t feel we had to compete for the attention of our loved ones?
There are no easy, clear answers to these questions that I, or the universe, could give?
Thank you for asking, good things to think of!
Hugos last blog post..Use the Unschedule to Overcome Procrastination
Some very good, thought-provoking questions. They make me look inward and think a bit more before I speak or act or even react.
I believe that life would be better if we acted in a more humane way toward one another. However, there are days when it seems as though our society is simply in one huge competition on the individual level.
It’s as though I am in a championship match against every other human doing their daily business. Perhaps I’m just not that competitive, or perhaps I care more about people than getting ahead. I want to have a good life so I try to live towards that end.
As you said, there are no easy answers, but there are solutions to all of the questions. We just need to look to see them.
Ians last blog post..What Has Eight Arms and Juggles?
There are no easy answers, but they’re provocative questions as personal challenges. They all seem to be asking, “What if we got over ourselves?” To me, that’s a vision of a post-consumer society (what Ivan Illich called “conviviality”). Those of us raised in rich countries always feel like we have more to lose than in cultures where affluence isn’t considered a birthright, or even a healthy aspiration.
Andre Kibbes last blog post..The Difference Between Accomplishing and Action
@Ian: “However, there are days when it seems as though our society is simply in one huge competition on the individual level.”
Too true. What separates healthy competition from non-healthy competition is that in non-healthy competition, everybody loses.
A funny thing happens when you stop fighting other people. The rules of the game change and people don’t know how to act.
@Andre: Always insightful – it now seems obvious that that riff was going through my head. I had the questions thought out after a long day of driving and thinking about how to help others become more successful. The biggest suggestion: get over yourself and get out of your way. Easy to say, hard to follow.