What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Covid. Growing polarity and dysfunction in the political system. Random acts of violence. Environmental degradation. Does the world seem crazier these days or is just me?
Actually, it is increasingly unbalanced. We are living in an era that is dominated by scientific and technological solutions to life’s major problems. That approach has yielded us many benefits: Advances in health care, labor-saving conveniences, greater access to information, ease of travel and a general increase in material prosperity. All of this is unfolding as the pace of change is accelerating.
The problem is a growing sense of ‘dis-ease.’ Depending on which side of the political spectrum you identify with, that is associated with a sense that the culture is decaying and getting away from ‘fundamentals’ like morality and spirit (on the right). Or that there is inherent inequality and greed built into the system that is hell-bent on destroying the environment (on the left). In some ways, both are true.
We are living in a time when the modern world is reaching its limit and this is having a growing impact on our well-being and the health of the environment. And indeed, it is time to return to some ‘fundamentals.’
For many, many thousands of years, or ancestors knew how to get along with the world. Change happened—but much more slowly. Ever so slightly at first, the pace of change began to accelerate. With the Scientific Revolution and Age of Enlightenment of 18th Century, the pace of change began to quicken still further. With the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century, it began transforming the way most people lived. During the 20thCentury, the pace of change began to increase exponentially.
Modern life is defined by a material approach to the world–using science to tease out life’s mysteries, and depending on technology to apply these discoveries to create greater convenience. It’s a recipe for prosperity. But it also yields unintended consequences: Environmental destruction, social dislocation, and a growing list of psychological problems like isolation, alienation, and growing levels of fear.
The solution? Ultimately, it won’t be technological. To paraphrase an insight from Albert Einstein, you cannot solve a problem from the same level that created it. The solution will be spiritual in nature.
As much as the modern, materialistic approach to life tries to make the spiritual realm irrelevant, it cannot entirely be eradicated. As humans, we have a built-in need to relate to the inherent mystery of life. That impulse is prevalent in modern pop culture–particularly in movies. How else to explain the proliferation of super-hero themes, let alone more obviously occult subjects like zombies, ghosts, or vampires. People are yearning for the transcendent and ‘other than physical.’
These are not just flights of fancy. Our ancestors had far less stuff than we do. But they did have sophisticated ways of relating to the great mystery of life–the realm of divine. They worked with nature to get what they needed. Life could be challenging, but it was rich and full of meaning. There was a level of acceptance and joy that is far more rare in modern life.
We do not have to go back to living in caves and wearing animal skins. But it is time to look back to the wisdom of those who came before us–those who lived in relative balance for many thousands of years. What did they know that we have forgotten? What might help us to deal with the increasing complexity and corresponding unintended consequences of the modern world? How can we find healing at a time of growing ‘dis-ease?’ Stay tuned…