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I have always enjoyed the bounty of the American bourgeois worldview, which really took off after the Second World War. As a white male, I was given all the breaks and privileges bestowed by our patriarchal, Caucasian-favoring society.
I, along with my immediate peers, was raised to believe that we were something special, something apart from the rest of the world. We weren’t Earthlings sharing a planetary home, we were proud Americans! We enjoyed the advantage and this was just the way the game was played.
As I molded myself into an upstanding member of our society, I was given the expected reward. I could join in with my fellow, favored citizens in accessing and gobbling up a quarter of our world’s resources even though we in America only make up about five percent of the world’s population. We were exceptional after all, rising above the Second and Third World with our American ingenuity. And we deserved the best! We hailed from the greatest country on Earth! At least, this is what I was taught growing up.
It has been an astonishing party of privilege and perks, due in large part to the incredible technological advancements we’ve enjoyed in the last seventy-five years. And, of course, our high-tech and gigantic military that ensures us the continued access to the cream of the world’s wealth!
This First World shindig has been a grand celebration of our unfettered growth and progress. We could get whatever we wanted, when we wanted it! It’s been a lavish celebration of consumption for consumption’s sake!
But there comes a time at any extravagant party where we hit up against the hedonistic crossroads of “Having a great time” and “Oops—too much…I’m going to puke”.
To anyone paying attention to how our world is faring at this height of our technological revolution, it’s clear that we are quickly passing that “having a great time” point, ecologically speaking. There is a planetary upheaval in the offing that is putting our grandchildren in great peril, and is jeopardizing our planets ability to sustain life…oops.
In light of this environmental precipice, the wise course of action involves seeking for global partnerships and balanced, worldwide solutions. Instead of that sane approach, our American leadership is tightening into a fearfully contracted sphincter of nationalist protectionism. The arrogance of those in governance is obstructing our nation’s ability to seek for life-affirming, inclusive solutions to humanities shared international challenges. This is insane.
There is a whole lot of the “Us vs. Them” thinking and denial of our looming tribulations going on. This will only hasten the arrival of that ecological point of no return that scientists speak of in hushed tones, leaving our grandchildren twisting in the wind.
It seems like it’s time to pause, take a breath and collectively assess what is actually the state of our world. Then we can consider how we might skillfully move forward and make different choices that reflect healing and sustainability. If we don’t, we will end up diving headfirst into some apocalyptic shit-stew of our own making.
So, I’m just a man. What can I do? How can we step up for the grandbabies?
We can begin by engaging in a deeper, mindful inquiry into our individual lifestyle choices, our social interactions, and what our priorities are as we decide on our individual intentions, goals, and visions for our future.
The thing to understand now is that our future, our grandchildren’s future, and the future of our lovely Earth are all interwoven, like the most complex and wondrous tapestry. And the effects of our individual decisions ripple outward in all directions in time and space.
Today, our Mother Earth is asking us to awaken from the American tradition of the mindless consumption of resources. The Universe is inviting us to begin accessing deeper pools of wisdom that can be found underneath all the clamoring mental noise of the “Us vs. Them” nonsense.
This is what the practices of meditation and mindfulness are about, giving us the awareness of how we think and make choices, and accessing the greater knowledge of stillness.
Our fellow beings and the grandbabies are requesting that we begin accessing that meditative mind state. It’s a good time to become familiar with the mental spaciousness and stillness that allows those deeper pools of wisdom to rise to the surface of our consciousness and inform our decisions, actions, and our worldview.
I don’t believe it is a coincidence that so many of us are learning yoga and other meditative arts these days, or that the best-selling books are often about being in the Now, accessing mindfulness, or breaking through the limitations of our ego-minds in one form or another.
The insanity of our governing systems has never been more apparent. But neither has our potential to transcend that insanity been so accessible. We need to take back the power of the people. And we begin by shining the light of meditative awareness onto our movement through life, onto the individual choices we make, and their implications for our future. There is a great awakening afoot, a party unlike any other! And we are all being invited to join in.
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