Thrival
There's a new word going around - "thrival". It's the opposite of "survival". So, if you're a thrivalist, you're not a survivalist. Thrival is about a cooperative response to the financial and environmental difficulties of our time. Those with survivalist mentalities think themselves realistic and practical because they are cynical about human nature and, therefore, pessimistic about our ability to work together to solve the world's problems. The survivalists go to war and compete over what they believe are limited resources. A thrivalist might be more likely have a friendly response, seeking solutions to their common problems. If you think and act out of the assumption that war, disease, poverty, pollution and scarcity will always be with us, you're a survivalist.
A thrivalist looks at all the tremendous waste of conflict and says a better world is possible.
I have faith gained from logic that our problems are solvable. But that doesn't mean I think we don't have many problems; in fact, just the opposite. Because I am hopeful, I have been able to look at many problems others consciously or unconsciously sweep under the rug. I've been called a doomer because I'm of the opinion that the human species may go extinct soon. But, in fact, I'm profoundly optimistic because I'm convinced that the Universe has always been miraculous, so - no matter how bad things look - what some call spiritual beings and some call extraterrestrials (far advanced of us) have been and will continue to help us - to the extent that we become more loving in our hearts and actions.
Yes, we may go extinct just as are many other species in this catastrophic time. But our civilization also just may blossom into a new age. It's up to us.
The world is becoming less predictable. There are amazing things happening, such as with new inventions. If you can imagine something, it's probably happening somewhere. We don't know whether our society is going to Hell in a handbasket or entering a fascinating new age. People argue about everything, from the ownership of a specific piece of land to the nature of reality. We can't even agree on what is actually happening, such as with climate change. Amazing, wonderful and terrifying things are happening on Earth, leaving us unsure whether we should feel wonder or fear or both. How do we survive in a world that is increasingly about change? Maybe our attitude should be that we should expect to thrive. For at least the last century, science has been mystified by some of the results of its own experiments. Quantum physics is pointing towards the conclusion that the physical world is more flexible than we realized, that matter is changed according to the minds and hearts of people.
Some don't realize we are at a crucial moment in history, similar to that referred to in the story of Noah's Ark. Species of life are disappearing at an increasingly rapid rate now. Many are stubbornly blind to the effects of their own actions, having no moral compass to guide them. Some of us humans are so fully engaged in the assumption that the material world is all that there is they can't see the writing on the wall. Too busy with our own affairs to notice the elephant in the room, we're often like children playing in the street - going to get hurt.
So often we argue about what is going to happen with the climate, for instance - as if the future is totally predictable and has no relationship whatever to what we each think, feel, or do. That's the way it is, they'll say; you can't do anything about it, why beat your head against the wall? That's nice that you're so idealistic, they'll say, but let's be realistic. This is profoundly wrong-headed, and is partly responsible for why humanity is in such malaise at this moment in history. The cynics are the ones who are not realistic. They don't realize their pessimism is adding to the suffering.
It's OBVIOUS we 7 billion human beings are causing climate change, just as it's obvious we're: depleting the ocean of fish; acidifying the oceans; causing whole groups of species like birds and insects to go extinct; poisoning our water and air with fossil fuels and nuclear power; causing the increase of diseases worldwide with our type of industrial agriculture and disruptions of ecosystems; and, in the now near future, causing our own population collapse. Some scientists are of the opinion that the "methane clathrate gun" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis tipping point is already going off right now and that therefor we have very little time with which to transform our technology. Thousands of technological breakthroughs - many of which have been suppressed by the defenders of the status quo - are capable of taking us beyond this destructive age of monopoly of the fossil fuel and nuclear industries.
An eye-opening documentary called "Thrive: What On Earth Will It Take?" is available free online at
http://www.thrivemovement.com/the_movie .
A thrivalist looks at all the tremendous waste of conflict and says a better world is possible.
I have faith gained from logic that our problems are solvable. But that doesn't mean I think we don't have many problems; in fact, just the opposite. Because I am hopeful, I have been able to look at many problems others consciously or unconsciously sweep under the rug. I've been called a doomer because I'm of the opinion that the human species may go extinct soon. But, in fact, I'm profoundly optimistic because I'm convinced that the Universe has always been miraculous, so - no matter how bad things look - what some call spiritual beings and some call extraterrestrials (far advanced of us) have been and will continue to help us - to the extent that we become more loving in our hearts and actions.
Yes, we may go extinct just as are many other species in this catastrophic time. But our civilization also just may blossom into a new age. It's up to us.
The world is becoming less predictable. There are amazing things happening, such as with new inventions. If you can imagine something, it's probably happening somewhere. We don't know whether our society is going to Hell in a handbasket or entering a fascinating new age. People argue about everything, from the ownership of a specific piece of land to the nature of reality. We can't even agree on what is actually happening, such as with climate change. Amazing, wonderful and terrifying things are happening on Earth, leaving us unsure whether we should feel wonder or fear or both. How do we survive in a world that is increasingly about change? Maybe our attitude should be that we should expect to thrive. For at least the last century, science has been mystified by some of the results of its own experiments. Quantum physics is pointing towards the conclusion that the physical world is more flexible than we realized, that matter is changed according to the minds and hearts of people.
Some don't realize we are at a crucial moment in history, similar to that referred to in the story of Noah's Ark. Species of life are disappearing at an increasingly rapid rate now. Many are stubbornly blind to the effects of their own actions, having no moral compass to guide them. Some of us humans are so fully engaged in the assumption that the material world is all that there is they can't see the writing on the wall. Too busy with our own affairs to notice the elephant in the room, we're often like children playing in the street - going to get hurt.
So often we argue about what is going to happen with the climate, for instance - as if the future is totally predictable and has no relationship whatever to what we each think, feel, or do. That's the way it is, they'll say; you can't do anything about it, why beat your head against the wall? That's nice that you're so idealistic, they'll say, but let's be realistic. This is profoundly wrong-headed, and is partly responsible for why humanity is in such malaise at this moment in history. The cynics are the ones who are not realistic. They don't realize their pessimism is adding to the suffering.
It's OBVIOUS we 7 billion human beings are causing climate change, just as it's obvious we're: depleting the ocean of fish; acidifying the oceans; causing whole groups of species like birds and insects to go extinct; poisoning our water and air with fossil fuels and nuclear power; causing the increase of diseases worldwide with our type of industrial agriculture and disruptions of ecosystems; and, in the now near future, causing our own population collapse. Some scientists are of the opinion that the "methane clathrate gun" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis tipping point is already going off right now and that therefor we have very little time with which to transform our technology. Thousands of technological breakthroughs - many of which have been suppressed by the defenders of the status quo - are capable of taking us beyond this destructive age of monopoly of the fossil fuel and nuclear industries.
An eye-opening documentary called "Thrive: What On Earth Will It Take?" is available free online at
http://www.thrivemovement.com/the_movie .
posted by St. Jim the Composter at 9:58 AM
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