This is life. No matter how perfect, how clean we try to make our lives, there is always imperfection, the dirt which we must accept. There will always be someone with values in conflict with our own. There will always be greed, thieves, bullies, liars and the pursuit of control and power. We will even manifest those traits ourselves, especially in the eyes of others. All of this around us, and in us, is human nature. Embracing ideals and goals absent of consideration of this absolute is a recipe for failure.
Gunpowder is a substance that in an ideal world is a boon to mankind bringing to hand a panacea of raw resources. Gunpowder is also used as an instrument of maiming and death in frequency enough to bring fear and consternation, in some degree, to nearly every household on the planet. Atomic sciences carry the promise of unlimited energy to power the tools and toys of our lives. The very first practical application of this truly civilization-changing discipline was to vaporize two cities in two instants. A comparatively few years ago a man I have long respected for his high intellect and social prowess caught wind of the 3D printer having been invented. He was very excited and earnestly proclaimed that the world's problems were about to end because of this marvelous invention.
There will always be someone with values in conflict with our own.
Our newfound ability to one day quickly bring into existence anything we could design would erase all of mankind's problems. I was saddened. This idealistic perspective embraced without consideration for its horrific potential to tools of destruction into the hands of anyone with such intentions was a blatant issue being completely overlooked. Thoughts of economic disruption, copyright infringement hazards and new forms of scam perpetuation were in no way a part of his utopic perspective. This is an example how even brilliant, responsible persons of constructive character can, and have perpetuated this miscalculation we have as a species so much trouble overcoming. It wasn’t but a few months later I read an article declaring a security emergency because untraceable single shot guns invisible to metal detectors had started showing up. We were again becoming victims of our technology maturing faster than we are as a people. Today the Internet, the greatest communication technology ever known to any civilization, practically psychic in it’s expediency and effectiveness, is being used to invade the deepest interactions and relationships of anyone who participates, and most who don’t.
None of this is meant to paint a doomsday picture. I am not saying we need to stop innovating. I am only pointing out the dirt beneath the metaphorical carpets, between the prophetic couch cushions and under the idealistic refrigerators of our lives. Perhaps it is by first acknowledging the inevitable character trait differences in each of us as a species, recognizing that the strength of a person in one scenario is a weakness, or even destructive, in another; we will begin to heal the chasms of dividing derisiveness that are emerging in our societies today. Perhaps accepting, rather than denying the normalcy of our differences will allow us to begin to evolve ourselves towards truly living in congruence and reverse this trend of divided discord. Perhaps we will start on the path toward realizing, and embracing the perspective that, despite the vastness of our technology it cannot in and of itself bring harmony to us as species or individual. Just maybe we will begin the path of collectively understanding that the products of our intellect are merely tools with potential to assist in realizing our potential as individuals - and then as a civilization. We cannot progress as a whole in community if we are ailing as individuals in spirit.
Our spirit and our character are not different from our muscles. They all grow stronger when exercised. We must protect ourselves, and especially our children from devastating danger. But, there is always risk of injury; seeking absolute safety is a guarantee for a sort of living death. To
Real change. Big change, is possible.
not know risk is to not know growth or true accomplishment. Growth is, by definition, exploration into someplace new. Your body doesn't grow to a new height by stooping to a level you have already been. A person does not learn new skills without the risk of failure doing something never before experienced. This is also true of our emotions.
Unexposed, tightly protected emotions are like sheltered children not allowed to experience the world. Keeping a child hidden from the dangers of the world, protecting them from the consequences of their own actions may give them a "safe" 18 years, but it guarantees an agonizing 35-70 years to follow for not having learned to handle pain and difficulty along the way. Our emotions never actually leave us and so to keep them perpetually hidden away is to live in perpetual discord.
Our youth is the best time to learn where true, real world boundaries between safety and pain lay. This is the best time to learn to endure the pain of exceeding our limits for the same reason the best time to change construction plans is in the design phase. The effort to later rework what is already built is exponentially more difficult and costly than constructing to meet real requirements from the start. And the resources available at project start are not available later. We are born with 100 billion neurons supporting a 100 trillion connections; ready to create the circuitry necessary for prosperity in an evolving world. This happens by cause and effect. We have experiences and in response we make neural connections supporting successfully navigating those experiences again later. The more frequent, or intense the experience; the stronger the connections. This all primarily takes place in our youth. By the time we are age appropriate to leave home our "wiring" is complete. Neurogenesis, the growth of new neurons, and neuroplasticisticity, the reconfiguration of our neuron network; are both possible as adults, but happen only at levels of performance suitable to organic environment change adaptation. In other words our neural wiring comes together early, with the pliability to build whatever is necessary for survival in the environment we are raised. Once complete, sometime after puberty, we maintain the pliability enough only to adapt to the changes naturally occurring with the aging process and the dynamic environment of the natural world. That is what we are built for; the natural world.
Therein lay one of our great conundrums. We have created technology, and thereby societies, that evolve at a pace that exceeds our own ability to adapt. This combination creates more gyration and convolution than smooth evolution in the individuals trying to cope. The level of stimuli, the number of considerations, incongruent simply due to their sheer volume, inevitably overwhelm our ability to adapt leaving individuals ironically alone in a sea of stimulation; anxiously groping for familiarity and safety. We are creatures built to primarily experience only one living circumstance, with some provision for situational adaptation, living in a world of all possibility.
Real change. Big change, is possible. This type of change does however require a great deal of life force, whether that be as a shock to our system or as an intensely focused expending of our will over time. Sometimes we are lucky and can trigger one of those rapid shocks to our system of our own accord. These times are often referred to as "Aha! moments." The vast majority of real change in our lives however comes with time, introspection, honesty and action. One of the greatest skills for building a successful life, one in which we feel the joy of living with a purpose we are fulfilling, is being adaptable that we may accept the sometimes "dirty" truths of our life. Once the need to account for the dirt of our lives is accepted we have taken the first step to change; whether it be in our environment, or ourselves.
Strive not for an easy life but for the strength of character to overcome your difficulties. For an easy life can ultimately be the most difficult of all.
Journey on ...
Photo credit: simpleinsomnia