Live More Communally
We are a species that thrives from our communal efforts, yet as we move deeper into the digital age, we can plainly see that we have become more isolated from one another than ever before. The internet and social networks were built on the promise of deeper connection, but the reality is that we are now lonelier than ever. We are the relational creatures we’ve always been, and now is the time to realign ourselves into human-scale collectives, where individuals thrive in unity with one another. Bringing back interconnected communities is the first step in growing these groups into larger and more impactful assemblages. In the process, we can flourish together, allowing individuals to share their unique skills and talents. This is the model that has sustained humanity far longer than any other, and it is imperative that we begin building back these social structures.
Most of us live amongst other people, whether it be in rural towns or villages full of single-family dwellings, cities jammed with crowded apartment buildings, or nomadic groups traveling together. Yet, even in these social structures, we find that people often isolate themselves from one another. You can be the person that begins the process of turning the tide around. Make an effort to get to know the people who live around you. Introduce yourself with a smile or a random act of kindness. Organize neighborhood gatherings, potlucks, gardening clubs, food drives, building projects. Freely offer your help to those who could use it. Create or join a group around a particular interest.
These are all small things, but they are important, impactful, and efficient. For example, take a look at how economical it is for a group of neighbors to share meals with one another on a regular basis. In this model, each person prepares a meal for however many people are in that group just one time in the same number of days. So, if there are 14 individuals, you would make 14 meals just once every 14 days. It is usually far more economical to prepare food in larger quantities, where it may only cost $50 or so to cook and deliver 14 individual meals once every two weeks to each neighbor. In the meantime, everyone else is doing the same, so all participants are not only enjoying two week’s of dinners for only $50, each one is relieved from cooking duties for those two weeks!
Creating “conscious communities,” whether they look like domestic neighborhoods or more creative social networks of people sharing a single piece of property, many close-knit and supportive collectives are not only thriving, they are modeling a sustainable future for all of us.
Be Prepared
From being able to grow your own food, repair mechanical devices, build things or offer medical assistance, you will never regret being more capable of solving “real world” issues. We can all live without social media or entertainment, but none of us can live without life’s essentials. The more you know how to do, the more important you will be not only in the process of sustaining yourself, but of those around you.
Do not be afraid of taking yourself back to school (in whatever form that looks like) and learning new and practical things. Once you begin, you will see that many endeavors and skillsets are easier to achieve than you may have believed. And while you might not ever become a master carpenter, mechanic, or farmer, knowing even the fundamentals of carpentry, mechanics and gardening will serve you and others well for the rest of your life.
Think small. There is already a growing trend of people realizing they don’t need a mansion or a fleet of cars to be happy. Whether it’s the tiny-house phenomenon or the resurgence of yard-scale gardening, we can see that humanity is already taking adaptive steps to living smaller and more sustainably. We have been conditioned into being mega-consumers, but this is not nature’s way. If animal behaviorists observed a monkey who horded up food, over-consumed and let others starve, they would conclude that there was something wrong with that monkey. But when humans over-consume, horde and withhold, we idolize and consider them being better than the rest of us.
A New Org Chart
Whether it involves government, military, business, or religion, we have become accustomed to a vertical organization chart, where everyone (except the people at the top) answers to someone above them. This chain of command can and does work on some levels, but it is actually not the most efficient. In nature, we often see groups – whether it be a hive of bees or a pod of dolphins – that function as a cohesive collective with no upper management. In human terms, this could be expressed as a horizontal rather than vertical system, where effective leadership is found in the most capable of accomplishing a particular task at any given moment. In this model, it becomes apparent that every person plays a pivotal role in keeping things running smoothly.
Acknowledging this, it would seem that a new and more equitable system could be realized not only in the realms of business and government, but also religion. Our spiritual growth would be fueled less by seeking answers from someone above you and more by realizing that the answers are already within each one of us.
We all want to have an impact, and there are many more ways of managing ourselves than what we’ve grown accustomed to. We don’t need to work our way to the top, we can take pride knowing that we all have important gifts and skills to share, and that there are many versions of teamwork waiting for us to explore. Think of all the organs in your body: which one would you consider the most important? In the end, each one is just as vital as any other. It doesn’t matter if it’s the heart, brain, kidney, or lungs… once one organ fails, the entire body is in peril. As we move forward, we’ll be faced with figuring out more fair and empowering ways to thrive in the way we work, learn, worship, and live. Imagine the entire human race as one big conscious community, where each person is acknowledged, respected and valued. The sooner we honor every member of our global community, the sooner we will all begin to thrive.
Take a Stand
Before we can begin to address the practical logistics of how to create a more peaceful and sustainable world, each one of us must come to a clearer understanding of who we are individually. For while those of us who feel aligned with creating a new model of society may be found anywhere and from any culture and background, it is important to acknowledge that we will always be seen as outliers, a small percentage of the population who live on the fringe. To that end, it may be productive to see how many of the following statements ring true to you.
I’m not a fanatical deviant, I AM a rebel with a cause.
I’m not part of the problem, I AM part of the solution.
I question authority, yet I honor reasonable and just laws.
I’m not a threat to society, I AM a peacekeeper.
I’m not waiting for someone to save me, I AM ever-more willing and able to save myself.
I’m not a pawn under someone else’s control, I AM a sovereign being.
I’m less concerned with service to self than service to others.
I’m willing to suffer certain personal consequences to achieve freedom for myself and others.
I AM motivated first and foremost by love and the greater good for all.
Humanity stands at a crossroads, a virtual X marking the spot in time when we must wake up and acknowledge the perils of status-quo living. If you are waiting for big business or some governmental agency to save you, you are waiting for a metaphorical ship that will never arrive. There is a very real potential for a tyrannical new world order coming, and by the time it is fully realized by the architects sitting at the top, the rest of humanity will be left wondering how such a state of oppression could have come to be.
Let’s not let that happen . . .
In archeological terms, we are just getting started on our path of learning who we truly are, how we came to be, and what our purpose is here on this amazing blue marble of a planet floating around a life-giving star.
TIMELINE X 