Sun, May 17, 2020
Read in 5 minutes
From the Thessaloniki, Greece Hub Originally from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, USA
What can a person say about Covid-19 that hasn’t already been said? The answer is nothing. That’s the beauty and the struggle that comes from this uniquely universal trial that we are all facing. We’ve heard it all. The good - less strain on the environment, human resilience, communities finding creative ways to come together, solidarity through social distancing. The bad - unprecedented levels of unemployment, near certain economic recession. And the ugly - death, suffering, the spread of misinformation, racism and prejudice. But when I really ruminate on this topic and reflect on how this experience has changed my mentality, one message stands out clearly in my mind: radical love and compassion are the only path forward.
This is not a new message. But this is a new moment. A critical moment.
Many of my friends can probably recall me ranting more than once that our global economic system is irrevocably broken because it has incentivized mass exploitation, environmental degradation, and confusion about what is actually valuable, all of which is unsustainable. I would follow up by saying that probably the only way people would grow to understand this would be by experiencing some kind of global catastrophe, probably climate change related, that would force us to unify. Collaboration would be the only viable solution. We would have to strategize across all real and imagined borders. We wouldn’t be able to afford useless divisions that could ultimately sacrifice the innovation and resilience that is born of diversity.
Unfortunately, the global catastrophe is upon us and there will certainly be more to follow if we don’t learn the key message, that from a pragmatic AND from a humanistic standpoint, love is the only way forward. As long as the majority of the people on this earth are overworked and vulnerable, we are all in danger. A public health crisis exemplifies this better than anything else. As long as we prioritize national pride and feed the flames of grudge-holding and self-righteousness, we will not face the coming storms gracefully. We must fundamentally understand the value of every human being beyond the numbers calculated in baseless currencies, beyond their potential for productivity in making useless goods to feed our egos. We must both apologize and forgive each other on behalf of our ancestors and on behalf of ourselves for the terrible evils we have perpetrated against one another- out of malice in some cases, but out of complicity and apathy in most. We must collectively reevaluate and reimagine what we deem truly valuable if we want to achieve the most advanced stage of human society’s evolution- maximizing human potential and minimizing human suffering.
The challenge in front of us is not a scarcity challenge, it is a logistics challenge. The concept of scarcity was created by people who wanted to make us buy things that the Earth gives us for free. We have the resources, we just haven’t collectively decided that every human being- by being born on this Earth that is meant for all of us to share, that doesn’t care about the lines we draw to denote ownership- actually deserves to have access to the basics for survival. Technology has come so far and yet we can’t keep up because we are stuck in a mindset of competition instead of harmony. We all want to make a world where our families and communities can be happy and safe and self-actualized, not just now but for future generations. We must understand that competition against others isn’t the only way to drive progress.
If you believe that the only way that people can be motivated is through fear and competition with others, I feel truly sad for you. Because this means you haven’t experienced the magic of competition with yourself. The magic of service. The magic of the unending supply of love and creativity that overflows from the encouraged and resilient human spirit. The magic of collaboration and shared growth.
Probably there will always be people who want to take advantage of the kindness of others. Let them. You don’t lose something by giving kindness. In the end we all have to choose our own strategy. Do we risk it all on love? Or do we risk it all on conflict and maintaining the status quo?
I hope that moving forward after this leveling moment, we will choose fearless leaders, who are ready to imagine a different kind of world. Leaders who are ready to imagine solutions based in compassion. Leaders who are ready to protect and defend the most vulnerable. Leaders who are ready to speak up and remind us that it is not a sign of strength to point fingers and lay blame. That is not a sign of strength to reduce everything to numbers. That is not a sign of strength to bully and intimidate. That the most heroic act of all is to seek compromise, collaboration, and progress in a world that has for too long believed that life is a zero-sum game.
In the end, either we all win, or we all lose, and our lives will be much better when our decision-making starts to reflect this understanding.