Twisted into the fibers of routine, it can be difficult at times to escape the great mundane. As an alarm pierces the morning air, lights click on, cold water rushes from the faucet, hot coffee begins to brew, a couple of snaps, tucks, and zips as you dress, and with a roar from the engine, you're off. For the average person, it's just another average day. The deeper you sink into your chair at work the more it dawns on you: you don't even remember the drive to work; you just sort of... arrived. Even as your eyes glide across these words nothing really seems out of the ordinary. But even though today may seem like just another normal day, I assure you it is anything but ordinary. Today, in fact, is actually quite radical.
Just for a moment think about how far we've come, so quickly. Just a short time ago people could not speak out or voice their opinions, women had little to no rights, there was no civil rights, no institutions to protect children, the disabled, or the poor. Food, water, electricity, and medicine were scarcely available, and traveling came with great risk. For most of the world's history this was normal. It is hard not to become disillusioned by the current world around us. If we were to take a step back, just a few generations, we would be viewed as total radicals. Not just because of our technology, but by how we value each other.
We have leapt freely off the cliff of the collective, as a culture, and plunged deep into idea of the individual. It has not only allowed our creativity and self-expression to explode into new spectrums, but also given us the ability to see the single faces within the crowd. The way that you perceive and process the world around you may not seem very unconventional or exceptional in your own mind, but it is far different from the past.
I feel that our view of justice and equality is much more refined and balanced than what it was just a few decades/centuries back, but it does not stop here. We still have a long way to go. Just as our normal would be seen as radical to our predecessors, pushing the envelope of radical will soon become normal in the years to come. The revolution continues; But a new chapter starts today.
"There is enough for everyone's need, but not everyone's greed." - Mother Teresa
For me, there is no reason for there to be any poverty, any hunger, any injustice or warfare in the future. Last year, the estimated cost was $30 Billion a year to eliminate world hunger, about how much the world spends every 8 days on military expenses. We must grow and reform our mindset, to transform our tools of destruction into tools of restoration. Some think it crazy to move in such a radical direction, but I see it even more insane to continue to trying to solve our problems by perpetuating the root of the problem.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Yes, many will scoff, saying that it is naive or unrealistic to imagine such a world. I don't deny, it is an ambitious vision for the future. I truly believe though, it can be as simple as a few living out their beliefs that can soon transform the world... Until soon, radical is the new normal.
Be sure to Like, Share or leave a comment! As always, I'll talk with you next Friday.
Keep being outstandingly awesome,
Joey
