Reflection | Looking back to look forward

Reflection | Looking back to look forward

Reflection. 

It’s been a year since the death of George Floyd and the watershed of social activism, dialogue, and action that followed. But as we continue to see, the culture of hate persists…in the form of violent, racist acts, fueled by the frustration and fatigue resulting from a tumultuous year of a civil rights movement and pandemic.

The work we need to do is hard and it’s uncomfortable, but the work is necessary for this nation to heal wounds and alter habits born from generations of trauma on real people of all colors. Every color is a human color and for some reason we have a hard time embracing our shared humanity. We seek to focus on our perceived differences but in the end we are all human, plain and simple. The sooner we can get to that same page and realize that we are all part of the crew on this “earthship,” the sooner we can come together to find solutions that preserve human life and the ecosystem of all life on this planet as we know it. In the end, the earth will outlive us, and the planet itself does not care about our wellbeing. It is up to us to take personal responsibility for how our actions affect our lives, as well as the lives around us and the life that exists on this planet. This is our opportunity as humans to utilize the knowledge, skills and abilities we have gained over the time we have existed and evolved.

I am optimistic that humans have the capacity to be better, work together, and grow and evolve toward a more harmonious lifestyle that appreciates life. One that nurtures and cares for life, that does not discount life under false premises or a divine power trip. Life is precious. Life is beautiful. Life is a gift and privilege that we collectively seem to take for granted. We let the selfishness that is within our human nature, the greed, the pleasure principle, to lead us into thinking that it’s someone else’s problem to figure out. And yet we gripe about the problems as though we don’t inherently play a role in the current path and trajectory we are on. We ALL play a role. We are all complicit. Whether we do nothing or engage in extreme action, it is all intertwined.

Transparency can set us free. We must seek to dismantle systems that capitalize on people in order to profit, when the underlying system is fraught with lies and hidden truths that negatively impact human health: mentally, physically and socially. We have to boycott the manipulative industries of mass production that don’t serve us. We have to unplug, uncover, and demand healthy solutions that put people and the planet first. We have to do this or we will all perish at the hands of the greedy, god-complex, pleasure seeking, world-dominating billionaire capitalists, communists, oligarchs and other power-seekers. We should truly work against people like this and the principles for which they stand, and replace them with better options if they won’t change their ways. It is the only way forward.

Change will not come unless we connect all the dots and start working hard to reset our global culture now that we are so much more connected. We can’t shy away from the truth because it’s inconvenient. We can’t run from what we know in our hearts. We must share the knowledge and educate humanity to reset our culture and consumption habits because they are all connected. We can live more harmoniously with each other and our planet. It’s imperative to take the learnings from everywhere and everyone…indigenous people, modern people and historical people have given us the gift of knowledge and experience. We see the problems we are creating every day but the addiction to money and our own pleasure, the drive toward what we want for ourselves at the sacrifice of others is out of balance. We need to think differently about everything.

Can we let go of our hate? I believe so!

Can we change our habits to be better to ourselves, others and the planet? I believe so!

Can we evolve and become better versions of ourselves both individually and collectively? I believe so!

I have encountered so many amazing individuals, groups, communities and warriors of kindness that are innovating and driving for solutions for the greater good of society. We need more warriors to join the fight for the best parts of our humanity.

We need to build an ark. We need to get the best parts of what works well and get them on the boat, because there’s strength in numbers. We saw this during the wave of protests across America supporting Black Lives Matter. We are seeing another wave of support with Stop Asian Hate. It’s just sad that we are still having these issues, because as we fight amongst ourselves we are letting the ecosystem that supports all of our ability to live slip away. There is a point in which it will be too late. I feel the urgency in my soul and not for fear of my own life but for all those that will follow and be desperate to survive in a much harsher world than the one we inherited.

The time is NOW. We all must take responsibility to better understand our personal impact. Our scorecard. The footprint we are leaving behind for the next generation just as we have dealt with what prior generations left us.

The time is NOW to participate and not allow yourself to suppress what you know in your hearts and minds. These changes have to come across the board. If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. There is no in-between. Complacency and apathy are part of the problem too. 

We have to change our values. We have to stop idolizing icons and entertainment that lack true substance. We have to champion causes that matter. We have to promote educators and people that influence societal and environmental health. We have to learn to be better one day at a time, one small action at a time.

If we all took 10 steps towards improving ourselves and multiply that by the 8 billion people on the planet, that is 80 billion steps towards a better future. Imagine the possibilities if we could all take part in that challenge!

When George Floyd died at the hands of that policeman, it awoke some deep-seeded issues that I had suppressed because life was often easier accepting those things and often pretending they don’t exist or affect me. This experience is a small example of a much bigger picture of issues that exist in our world. We tend to hide the truths that are uncomfortable or daunting to overcome. But nothing happens in our world if we don’t take steps toward goals that are meaningful. We need to improve our culture so that what happened to George Floyd stays in the past; but as we’ve seen, this hateful part of our culture persists and as a result the fighting continues. I am grateful for the fighters, because their work is important. But let’s not reverse the hate or stereotypes to fight it. We need to fight hate with LOVE, with compassion and with an understanding of the trauma that leads to these events. Poor role models, bad experiences—what was the root cause that led to these horrific events? It’s much more complicated than what appears on the surface, yet we don’t always take the time to truly try to understand. We hide behind lawyers, mainstream media, and those little devilish screens that manipulate narratives. Those were two humans with their own unique histories that took them to that moment along with all those around them that were affected. Sometimes we need tragedy to react and step up and this was no exception. So many people rose up to meet the challenge and there are so many more aware and taking action to solve this particular problem. So many wondering how they play a role in it. This is something we can learn and apply to so many more aspects of our lives. And we must do so, and quickly.

Balance is very much a key to all of this. We have to have fun and enjoy life while being responsible. We need a positive attitude and to be social. We feed off of these things and they help us persist with fighting the good fight for a better present and future.

All is not lost, that is in our heads. The human potential is great and we must harness the best parts of our humanity and rally around those qualities and the vast knowledge we have gained and let truth and compassion win over greed and profit. We need solidarity in a vision that enables this mindset to thrive. We need to strive for reasonable excess as a way of being. We need to recalibrate what we think is enough. We need to stop being so damn lazy and to step up as humans to do the hard work that will make our world a better place to live in now and for generations to come. 

I believe in all the great people trying hard every day to make this happen on small and large scales. I love that people are making good things happen for the greater good of society. It’s inspiring, uplifting and motivating.

Will you take action or be complacent? Will you join the fight or say it’s someone else’s responsibility? Will you boycott the things that don’t serve us well? Will you demand transparency from the companies that push products? Or will you trust a system where money buys influence and promotes policies that control the narrative of truth itself?

Will you take 10 steps with me to learn more, do more and actually make changes that improve your life and the lives of those around you?

As one human to another, I’m asking you to help NOW because there is no time like the present. Life is precious and fragile and we must take action now to make positive changes happen. I am far from perfect and know I can never achieve perfection. I have many flaws and so much I can improve on. I am taking some steps and some are harder than others. In the end it’s not about me, but we all face the same difficulties.

I worry about the next generation and I genuinely care about humanity and all life on the planet. I envision a better world and want to see if we can achieve it. But I am just one human and we need billions of us to join this fight. I understand our connections to each other and to life as a whole. It’s so, so special. We need to celebrate and support life to fully experience the glory of it. In my soul I just want as many people to enjoy this life as possible. A happy healthy human community that celebrates all the different ways of being. Taking what we need but not too much. It’s pretty simple in my mind, but how do we adopt a culture that is much more focused on the simplicity of our basic needs and considerate of our impact on others and our environment?

To be healthy we must create a healthy world around us. It starts at home, it starts with family, and it extends to everything we do and how it impacts our communities, nations, community of nations and planet as a whole, including all living creatures..

We can design a better way of living on this planet. We can reimagine a fair and equitable system. We can demand better products and services that aren’t serving shareholders and top executives ahead of people and the planet.

This starts with you, me and our fellow humans. This is truly a fight for our lives. The time is NOW.

Let’s go, we can do this!!

 

Photography credits:

@donaldmiralle, @jianca_lazarus