What The World Needs Now - Maybe We're Already Getting It

It’s hard to say categorically what the world needs, because there are so many of us and we’ve all got desires and wants, some of them material, some of them survival, some of them luxury but none the less important to whoever wants them.  We’re all bumping up against each other now, trying to find a bit of space to survive, to know and express ourselves to give and find love.

But I can tell you what I’d like to see more of in the world, and when I was thinking about this I realized, actually the thing that I want to see is happening.  I want to see a heightened awareness of how easily we get conned by charismatic leaders and bosses and seductive advertising into giving up our capacity to think independently for ourselves.

The thing is, light bulbs are coming on all over the world that people in power are only there because we let them be.  That in fact the small person is the one with all the real power and that en masse we give it away.  Perhaps because we all have an innate belief in the goodness of human nature and we think we can trust those at the top to protect our best interests.

We can’t, though, and now less than ever and there’s a better consciousness of that there’s ever been, I’m sure of it.  Just look at the Arab Spring, and all the protests that are happening around the world.  People thinking, feeling, objecting, having their say.  Sometimes violence breaks out but often it’s not about that, it’s just about saying I’m not giving my power away any more.

One thing I’d like to see more of, especially in countries that are economically devastated, is people saying “to hell with corporate giants, and working for slave wages so the guys at the top can earn a fortune.  I’ll start a tiny little business, just trading something that people want, maybe even in my neighbourhood.”  Economic crises, awful as they are, are always opportunities for people to get creative.  Can’t find a job?  Make something for yourself.

I know the world is in a mess right now and so many of us are really struggling to either find ourselves, or free ourselves from the manacles of a system that has never really worked for us anyway but has it’s tendrils in everything.  But out of the mud grows a lotus flower and I really believe that the seed of the lotus flower in all of us around the world, is stirring.