Transformation with Vision & Courage

Change and challenge. Dreams and action.

Continual Change and Challenge

Writing is becoming a bit harder. Remembering, also. Balancing and walking, more so. I think that aging is accelerating, i.e., my body-mind is weakening. It is interesting that at the same time this is happening to me, human society and Earth’s ecosystems are also falling apart.

My body-mind of course cannot be renewed indefinitely, but society and ecosystems can be transformed again and again. That is, if enough of us humans do what is needed to build institutions of authentic democracy, create structures of social justice, and practice ecological regeneration. But will we?

Within my lifetime, humanity has gone from a firm belief in endless progress and endless growth, to the need for sustainable development, and then regenerative development, and now to the necessity of degrowth, reduced consumption by the 1%, ending the use of fossil fuels, and the extinction of many species.

In my lifetime, the human population has grown from 2.2 billion to 8.2 billion.

We believed that industrialization was a good thing, and that we increasingly had to extract more natural resources to maintain ever rising production and consumption. We believed that fossil fuels were a good thing. Most people were not aware that we were damaging or destroying the ecosystems that support life on Earth. Some have known this, but still want to make trillions of dollars in extraction and production.

With the need for increased sustainability, participation, justice, equality, tolerance and peace, opposing forces have risen up, including oligarchy, authoritarianism, misogyny, racism, intolerance, violence, fear, greed and hatred.

Now, in 2025, there are 3,028 billionaires around the world with a net worth of $16.1 trillion, and 692 million people who live on less than $2.15 per day. Billionaires make more and more billions on the fluctuations of the stock market and are demanding tax cuts and the sacrificing of social safety nets. What is this nonsense? We need to completely reinvent monetary policy and economic and governance systems. What would you suggest?

The year after I was born, my country dropped nuclear bombs on innocent people. Now, nuclear weapons can destroy human civilization. Now, we are developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) that someday could result in human flourishing or extinction. We have labs that experiment with viruses that can destroy millions of lives.

We humans are engaged in warfare, genocide, environmental destruction, resource depletion, hoarding of wealth by a few, hatred, bias, fear, embodying confusions of every sort. How weird is that? We could just as easily be creating a paradise of generosity, kindness, understanding, celebration, sharing, mutual support and grand artistic creation. What would it take to do that?

Remember that the current US federal administration is not about one person. It is an alliance of billionaires, religious fundamentalists, racists, misogynists, and nationalists. It is a reality TV show based on unreality, confusion, greed, pride, and hatred. May our fellow citizens awaken to empathy, understanding, and compassionate action. May it be so.

Who are we? Are we an insane species? Are some of us solely committed to greed and violence in order to increase personal wealth and power? Or are we here to invent a silicon form of intelligence that can explore the universe?

Why do we hurt each other? Within our marriages, families, communities, nations, and world? Isn’t it because we feel that we alone are important and right, that others are unimportant and wrong, that we have been insulted, hurt, or could be, that we are therefore fearful or angry, that we want to retaliate, to stop the hurt, to hurt the hurter, the one who is wrong, the one who made us fearful or angry?

But the generative illusion is the sense of separation between myself and the other. That I am a separate self that must be protected and valued at all costs. That there are “others” who must be restricted or punished for being wrong or hurtful or unimportant. That it is all about me and my pleasure. That the “other” is different and does not deserve happiness or even life.

And what can we do to begin to deal with our own illusions and fears and angers and hatreds?

We must stop. And observe. And think. And feel. And reflect. And see that it is not all about me. That other people and living beings are part of myself. That others’ happiness is as important as mine. That I can decide to love the other as myself. Not easy. But essential and worth it. What are your thoughts about this?

The Transformative Power of Dreams and Action

Gandhi had a vision of an India liberated from the British Empire. He did not know exactly how that could happen. MLK Jr. had a vision of equality in the USA as desegregated, just, and peaceful. He didn't know exactly how it would happen. Actually no one knows exactly how anything can happen. (Photo at the top of this essay is of MLK Jr. and Gandhi)

The drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution had a vision of a new type of society based on wellbeing, equality, justice, and freedom for all people. They did not know exactly how it would be implemented. In fact, it is still a work in progress with many flaws and weaknesses.

The important thing is to involve others in creating a motivating vision and then to keep your eye on the vision. Is it worthy? Moral? Just? Then, you mobilize people and organizations to make it happen, after identifying obstacles, designing strategies, and creating action plans.

Rutger Bregman, author of Utopia for Realists, is quoted in the New York Times Magazine: "Don’t underestimate the power of outlandish ideas. Throughout history, many significant milestones — democracy, the abolition of slavery, equal rights for men and women — began as utopian dreams."

And from my book A Compassionate Civilization: “Let us dare to dream and realize a new civilization of compassion. Let us take the necessary actions for environmental sustainability, gender equality, socioeconomic justice, participatory governance, cultural tolerance, and nonviolence and peace.”

What we think are immutable social structures are actually mental images, assumptions, and understandings that can be changed. And they are changing. Now, press on.

Many years ago, I decided to use my privilege to help others: my white, male, educated, middle class, American privilege to empower all people everywhere.

What are your hopes and dreams for the future of Earth and humanity? Who are your visionary and actional colleagues? What will you do today, this week, this month to embody and manifest your vision?

I will be writing weekly Compassionate Conversations, being interviewed on the Democratic Perspective show, meeting with local activists and writers here in western North Carolina, participating in a Climate Summit held at nearby Warren Wilson College, preparing for publication my sixth nonfiction book, meeting with our neighborhood aging-in-place group, and caring with mindfulness and compassion for family, neighbors, friends, and my nonself-self.

May we each embrace the mysteries of existence and consciousness with gratitude and act moment by moment to relieve suffering and create happiness for all beings everywhere.

May it be so.