The world did not come to an end on December 21 and yet there are things in this world that should come to an end.
Poverty and greed are but a few amongst the big ones.
Others?
1. The cultivation of fear as a social norm in the USA is leading to the response 'we must all bear arms.' Yes, America, it is written in your constitution that you all have the 'right to bear arms.' Yet have you stopped to think that this therefore also infers you have the 'right to not bear arms'? It would be of untold benefit for your children to see you implenting that right as a strategy for a better future. End the fear, build positivity.
2. Judgemental attitudes: The concept of superiority.
“You know Rose,” said Raf, placing a hand on either side of the kitchen bench behind him, then nimbly leaping back so that he now sat upon said bench. “What you were saying out there about my artwork…”
“Sorry, did I embarrass you?”
“No, on the contrary really. I liked hearing you talk about it. I dunno. I feel like I can’t talk about it myself. You know, put myself forward. Sometimes I feel like everyone else knows more than I do; that they are somehow superior to me.”
“No, no, no my boy. You should never feel that way. You need to employ the ‘Call It What It Is’ theory of life.”
“The what?”
“Call It What It Is. If someone is physically stronger than you, it does not make them superior. It simply makes them physically stronger. Likewise, if you have more wealth than that person over there, again, it doesn’t make you superior. Yes, it does mean you are wealthier. But that is all it means. Say your mate Hamish is deemed to be academically smarter than you. He’s won the Academic Achievement Award at school. That doesn’t make him superior to you. It may not necessarily mean he understands and interprets certain things more quickly than you. Marita may be seen as the most beautiful girl in the school. She’s been declared culturally and contextually beautiful. To ram home a point, this doesn’t make her superior. Although it may change her behavior. None of these things make you or anyone else superior. And if anyone thinks for one minute that they are superior, then their thinking is flawed. And they have proven they are not! Although, to be honest Raf, I think your wasabi pea demonstration just undid my entire theory!”
And of course there are many more. Write to me to let me know your ideas.
Edward de Bono, renowned creative thinker, coined the phrase "parallel thinking". This concept allows people to move towards the same goal whilst traversing their own solutions on parallel paths. Parallel thinking is far less adversarial than the usual approach taken in boardrooms or political arenas.
The world did not end on Dec 21st 2012, yet now is our time to end those bits of it that stand in the way of making this world a better place. Choose your parallel pathway and move along it with hastened speed.