At some point, humanity’s fear of the unknown becomes eclipsed by its horrible realization of what is known, because the evidence can no longer be denied, suppressed, or ignored. Such moments historically mark the occasions when human beings coalesce to bring about change.

Unfortunately, when we wait to initiate change until we absolutely hate what is present, real and true for us all, we then usually resort to desperate measures. These include warfare, bullying, suppression of competing ideas and beliefs, torture, mass murder, wholesale destruction of social institutions, etc.

These desperate measures mean we begin our new (next) social iteration from a place of conquest and destruction. That in turn leads to a fear that at some point we may ourselves be conquered by the formerly vanquishes. Our fear of such a conquest forcing us to regress back to the horrible times we are seeking to flee from means our institutions are grounded in preventing conquest, rather than in promoting the social welfare of the citizenry.

What Happens If, Instead...

But what happens if, instead of coming from fear of our own past, we come instead from a state of quiet confidence that the changes we collectively wish to explore are being investigated to discover whether or not they might carry us to a HIGHER state of being than we are presently experiencing—even if there’s nothing significantly “wrong” with our present conditions.

In that instance, we would be building and imagining new systems based on expanding and improving what’s already working, and on the playful and loving exploration of our own, already competent, capacities.

Energy Matters

Clearly then, the ENERGY behind any impulse to change matters. When we seek to change something from a place of trust in our innate capacities, of openness to any new feedback that may arise, of courage in the face of the unknown, of compassion for ourselves whenever the conditioned impulse to express ourselves using the “old ways” arises, of patience with ourselves whenever our vision falters, and with a sense of inner peacefulness that what we are choosing can be intentionally redirected by life, with love, if that becomes necessary, then the new systems and capacities we manifest will surely be far, far different from the social systems and human capacities we’ve thus far manifested.

Is It Time For A New, More Mature American Dream?

The American Dream, which we’ve all been conditioned to strive for, offers the promise that if you work hard and apply yourself vigorously enough, you can earn a lot of money and eventually make it.  Since we’re taught that money makes life easier the more we can accumulate the happier we imagine we’ll become.

Something, however, is wrong with that vision, if we pause for even a moment to note what it lacks.  For where within that dream do we see any mention of humanity being an integral part of a larger living system that is our Earth?  And where does the dream honor our desire to fully enjoy our own lives and express our true selves?

The dream, though it offers us content, lacks context.  It fails to honor the fact that the health and well being of our planet enables us to produce the things we hope to have someday.  Nor does it tell us that monetary success without personal mastery leaves us hollow and unfulfilled as human beings. 

That lack of context helps explain why so many of us seem eager to ignore the damage we’re doing to our planet for the sake of commerce.  Reverently tending the planet that bore us has never been encouraged by our dream.  In that sense the dream is more childlike fantasy than something adults should aspire to achieve, because it encourages us to satisfy our every desire without respect for what’s made our existence possible: the amazing web of life that sustains us all.

Of course, were we to begin honoring Earth’s web of life and respecting our own place in it, those who’ve not yet achieved the dream would need to cease its mindless pursuit.  Meanwhile, those who’ve already achieved the dream would need to cease excessive consumption, to grant our planet some time and space to heal.  Many might therefore consider this shift unfair.  Even so, frustration because the dream is no longer viable won’t change the difficult truth: in our endless pursuit of money we’re destroying our planet’s capacity to support our continued existence.

We Are Learning...

As humanity matures we’re learning more about the world, and our place in it.  We’re discovering we’re a fully integrated, interconnected and interdependent living system, not separate from – or masters over – our world.  We’re learning we can’t own the system we’re in.  We’re learning that everything we do affects everything else; and that we can’t leave morally driven decisions about what and how to create, or how to distribute what we create, to heartless market mechanics.  We’re learning that cooperation advances us faster than does competition; and that human diversity can’t be compared and measured, because we’re meant to honor the beauty of each divine and precious being.

We’re learning to accept life on its own terms, not argue with it based on how we think the world should be.  We’re learning that thinking longer-term, in ways that benefit the entire system, serves us better than focusing on short-term personal gratification. 

We’re learning our wisdom can grow in unlimited ways, but there exist important natural barriers to physical growth that we must honor.  We’re learning that sustainable and regenerative practices work better than do destructive, exploitative behaviors.  We’re learning that freedom and responsibility go hand in hand, and that we can’t enjoy the former without shouldering some of the latter.  We’re learning we don’t need more things to prove how successful we are, and that we can have everything we need if we’re willing to work together. 

We’re learning to live more compassionately and kindly in community, and to honor the needs and feelings of other people.  We’re learning there’s no place in a civilized world for war, hatred or other destructive memes.  And we’re learning – one at a time, and day by day – to surrender to whatever wants to emerge through us into this world, and to relax and allow it to do so, for the greatest good for all life.

Newly Arising Awareness

None of our original systems – not our religions, governments, economies, judicial systems, education or healthcare systems – coalesced while this higher level of understanding was birthing within us.  This newly arising awareness of our interconnectivity is therefore proof that it’s time for us to shed our old system and allow new ones to arise that can foster the expansion of a new, spiritually and socially unified consciousness in all our bodies, heart and minds. 

The global challenges we’re currently facing present us with wondrous opportunities to usher in a new consciousness around the world; for, as Albert Einstein famously said, “You can’t solve society’s problems with the consciousness that created them.”

Clearly then, the most graceful thing any of us can do for our world, and for ourselves, is step willingly into this new, fully integrated consciousness and allow it to activate us.  Through this heightened awareness of the interconnectedness of all things, it becomes much easier to surrender our childish attachment to the American Dream in exchange for a full-on adult awakening to life, where we realize at last that we are eternal life…infinitely creating and embodying all we create, for the benefit of all that is.

© Copyright by Eileen Workman.
Reprinted with permission from the author's blog.

Book by this Author

Raindrops of Love for A Thirsty World
by Eileen Workman

A timely spiritual guide to surviving and thriving in today’s pervasive, gloomy atmosphere of alienation and fear, Raindrops of Love For a Thirsty World, lays out a path to life long self-actualization, and reconnection through a shared consciousness.

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About the Author

Eileen Workman graduated from Whittier College with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and minors in economics, history, and biology. She began working for Xerox Corporation, then spent 16 years in financial services for Smith Barney. After experiencing a spiritual awakening in 2007, Ms. Workman dedicated herself to writing “Sacred Economics: The Currency of Life” as a means for inviting us to question our longstanding assumptions about the nature, benefits, and genuine costs of capitalism. Her book focuses on how human society might move successfully through the more destructive aspects of late-stage corporatism. Visit her website at www.eileenworkman.com

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