As I've listened to "The Promised Land" I've found inspiration in the not only the wonderful writing, but the declared intention of somebody whose desire to effect change in a positive way was so strong that they actually made the efforts to achieve it. When listening to a Cine-flies podcast one of the hosts shared how a specific movie struck them so intensely that they left the theater with an awareness that they had to, and would, do anything they could to focus their attention and career in that direction. I watched the "American Utopia" film by Spike Lee of David Byrne's stage show in 2019 after having read the Esquire article wherein they discuss their own drives, epiphanies and inspirations to use their time and abilities to awaken, connect and move our species forward.
All of these inputs, along with a self-curated daily playlist of podcasts intended to inform and inspire me are further awakening and increasing desire I have to so something, anything, of enough significance that the positive outcome of that effort might impact more than the handful of lives of those around me on a daily basis.
But I don't know where to start, how to start, how to make the time required, and how to get the necessary momentum to even put what little time I might have left into the effort.
I also struggle greatly with the point of making an effort, or with the idea that we, as a species, can or will ever stop living as if we're not all connected, not all parts of a greater whole, and not all contributing to ether the healing or destruction of our lives and any chance we might have to reach our potential.
For every Obama, A.O.C., Bill Gates, David Byrne, or any of the other multitude of visible activists who appear to be doing all they can to encourage and convince us of the opportunities we have to evolve as a connected mass, there's as many if not more that seem far more concerned about achieving their own personal agendas without consideration of the expense to and impact on the entire world population. There's political figures who's actions are tied to dark money or their own enrichment, there's human trafficking made possible by people who have no sense of integrity, compassion or humanity for another human being but there's the clients of these providers who are just as removed from any sense of recognition of the horror of their actions. And there are countries that live and thrive on a level of violence and aggression without any value being placed on the lives they are so callously willing to dispatch as simply a means to an end.
I read recently about the cartel's in Mexico, the vast spread of organized drug dealing going on throughout a network of states and collaborations, while over 79,000 people have disappeared in those regions since 2008. Mass graves and ground chard remains have been uncovered in mass graves and the average daily discovery of bodies is sickening. It reminded me of the documentary called "CartelLand" which showed how those with guns and power were forcing the peaceful inhabitant to flee for their lives or stand and fight against unsurmountable odds. And against corruption that seems as rampant as the bodies being found.
I want desperately to believe in the good nature of people, and to have hope that even the most selfish person might have it within them to recognize that their victim is somebody's child, somebody they might love in another circumstances, or at the deepest level, a part of them, and part all of us. But I'm living in a very different world than so many others, with very different access to very different beliefs, ideals, education, indoctrination and influences. Even those that have managed to touch, enhance and enlighten the lives of so many people do so because they're able to reach them, and those they reach are willing and wanting to hear what they have to say.
How can my hope be reconciled with these realities? Perhaps, just perhaps, it's something that like canyons and valleys, will no be changed in dramatically obvious ways in one lifetime, but may in 100. I guess that's where I need to put my hope for the time being, if I'm going to have any at all.
All of these inputs, along with a self-curated daily playlist of podcasts intended to inform and inspire me are further awakening and increasing desire I have to so something, anything, of enough significance that the positive outcome of that effort might impact more than the handful of lives of those around me on a daily basis.
But I don't know where to start, how to start, how to make the time required, and how to get the necessary momentum to even put what little time I might have left into the effort.
I also struggle greatly with the point of making an effort, or with the idea that we, as a species, can or will ever stop living as if we're not all connected, not all parts of a greater whole, and not all contributing to ether the healing or destruction of our lives and any chance we might have to reach our potential.
For every Obama, A.O.C., Bill Gates, David Byrne, or any of the other multitude of visible activists who appear to be doing all they can to encourage and convince us of the opportunities we have to evolve as a connected mass, there's as many if not more that seem far more concerned about achieving their own personal agendas without consideration of the expense to and impact on the entire world population. There's political figures who's actions are tied to dark money or their own enrichment, there's human trafficking made possible by people who have no sense of integrity, compassion or humanity for another human being but there's the clients of these providers who are just as removed from any sense of recognition of the horror of their actions. And there are countries that live and thrive on a level of violence and aggression without any value being placed on the lives they are so callously willing to dispatch as simply a means to an end.
I read recently about the cartel's in Mexico, the vast spread of organized drug dealing going on throughout a network of states and collaborations, while over 79,000 people have disappeared in those regions since 2008. Mass graves and ground chard remains have been uncovered in mass graves and the average daily discovery of bodies is sickening. It reminded me of the documentary called "CartelLand" which showed how those with guns and power were forcing the peaceful inhabitant to flee for their lives or stand and fight against unsurmountable odds. And against corruption that seems as rampant as the bodies being found.
I want desperately to believe in the good nature of people, and to have hope that even the most selfish person might have it within them to recognize that their victim is somebody's child, somebody they might love in another circumstances, or at the deepest level, a part of them, and part all of us. But I'm living in a very different world than so many others, with very different access to very different beliefs, ideals, education, indoctrination and influences. Even those that have managed to touch, enhance and enlighten the lives of so many people do so because they're able to reach them, and those they reach are willing and wanting to hear what they have to say.
How can my hope be reconciled with these realities? Perhaps, just perhaps, it's something that like canyons and valleys, will no be changed in dramatically obvious ways in one lifetime, but may in 100. I guess that's where I need to put my hope for the time being, if I'm going to have any at all.
“baby’s brains have hundreds of millions more neural connections than we do as adults and that as we grow up, we lose these connections […] What happens is we keep the connections that are useful to us, and yes, there is a process of pruning and elimination and we get rid of a lot of the others. Until the ones that are left define who we are as a person, who we are as people, they define how we perceive the world, and the world seems to make some sort of sense to us.”
- David Byrne