I really hope today is the end of the world. And by that I mean this world, and onto a new one.
I generally disregard the Mayan calendar hubbub with my own typical brand of snark and irony. That said, of all the various interpretations of the Mayan calendar curiosity, I do indulge in a bit of hope and inspiration from those that speculate this moment is a pivot, or a beginning rather than an end. A new human renaissance, if you will. Some refer to it as a “shift in our collective consciousness.” Presumably, for the better.
That sounds pretty dope.
I am not a person of any particular faith. I don’t believe in fate, stars aligning, and nothing in this world drives me crazier than simplistic explanations for complex issues, divined as a result of absolute allegiance to a creed or dogma. I believe that people make choices to lead, or follow, a it’s people that craft the world around them, be it good, bad, self-serving, innovative, or backward. Wild cards like the natural world and the baffling behavior of some keep us on our toes and keep us guessing.
But I’m not above taking a step back and looking into the sky or dusty Mayan ruins to try and see a bigger picture, and tease myself with the notion that this could be it. This could be a real moment of collective growth, amusingly suggested by 2000 year old Mesoamerican calendar makers. Maybe they saw something we haven’t, or that we haven’t seen yet.
One can cherry pick the evidence (and one often does), but I like to think that there is actually evidence for this. There are terrible events that might suggest an end to one way of being, and a kind of reboot to our thinking about ourselves and how we move forward, both in this country and around the world. There are also fantastic innovations and hints that we are entering a new age.
Granted, one could say “dude, you’re a white guy living in New York in the U.S. You have no comprehension of the horrors and difficulties people face in other parts of the world, and therefore your reference and vision is limited to a regional experience.” That’s true. But I like to think I’m a ‘think globally, act locally’ kind of dude, and that choices we make in our own regions will have ripple effects globally.
So a quick wish as this world (hopefully) ends, and a new age begins–
•I wish that our thirst for greater access to better education drives new paradigms
Evidence
•I wish that we see stunning, and unexpected innovation to come from stunning, unexpected places.
Evidence
Evidence
•I wish that innovation in agricultural and clean water efforts explodes.
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
•I wish that social entrepreneurship in developed regions drives upward mobility in less developed regions.
Evidence
Evidence
•I wish that digital technology helps us to reconnect with the analog world and cherish it anew.
Evidence
Evidence (yes cheeky link, but I see more of know more about the people in my life than i did before I joined.)
•I wish that when faced with violent acts perpetrated against innocents, we can engage in rational discourse, in which parties even at either extreme end of an argument are willing to rethink fundamental viewpoints.
Evidence: It’s out there, I see it and hear it. But I am withholding, as I’m not trying to start the obvious debate. Again, this is a wish list.
I’m not naive. I realize that all things take will, cooperation, money (shit tons of it), and time (also shit tons). In that order. I live and work in the world of creative technology design and development. Within the small segment of people I know and work with, the intelligence, ethics, and drive to innovate on a professional and human level is staggering. That can only be just as rich, if not more, in other places.
The truth is that we actually do know how to communicate and work together to move forward when there is a common need. We do know how to put all our personal baggage and beliefs aside for a moment to focus on collective solutions. But perhaps being able to do that in longer lasting ways is the first and most fundamental part of a human renaissance. A new kind of “we” that transcends but doesn’t eliminate the “I.” We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of the dream*.
I have not just hope for the new year, but true excitement. See you in 2013.
*Yes I am misquoting O’Shaughnessy, but i like this better.
