Personal Transformation to Build a More Beautiful World
We live in a time of great change. Future historians will refer to this time as a turning point in human history. In the next 50 years, the world will see the fall of various social institutions upon which modern life has been founded. Massive uprisings in virtually every country will radically change the social order. As resources dwindle and ecosystems destabilize, there will be an emergence of conflict on all levels. Technological innovations will bring about changes we cannot currently anticipate.
Already, social movements have dramatically shaped the world we live in today. Gandhi’s nonviolent revolution toppled the settler colonialism of the 19th century. In the United States, the Civil Rights Movement and Women’s Suffrage movement have dramatically shaped our political systems. Yet, these changes are minor compared to the changes to come. We are living in the turning of an age.
There will certainly be massive changes. What is uncertain is what those changes will look like. Many social movements ended up recapitulating the oppression they sought to undo. More than that, we face challenges of ecological destabilization and international tension that our ancestors didn’t face. Will we rise to these challenges or crumble beneath them? While some people herald the coming of a more beautiful world of human thriving, others stockpile canned goods in preparation for the apocalypse.
Both of these possibilities may be true. Whether we move gracefully through the coming changes, shaping them in service to life, or whether we flail against them, causing social cohesion to crumble is entirely up to us. The relevant matter is whether we will allow ourselves to change as the world does.
What do we do?
The science of emergent systems tells us that order can emerge spontaneously out of chaos in natural systems. Chaos is, in fact, one of the signs that a new level of order is emerging spontaneously. Our world, culture, and planet are on the brink of an evolutionary change. We—human beings—are an essential part of that. This emergent order is not the kind that we can impose and define. Rather, it is an order that is inherent to every part of the system itself. It emerges from within us.
This places upon us a powerful responsibility: to honor and serve the impulses that arise within us. To do this is a revolutionary reorientation to our own beings—one that has been defined through control of “irrational” psychic forces in the legacy of Sigmund Freud.
The new human does not seek to control him or herself. Rather, this human recognizes that within each of us is a sacred wellspring of life force. Honoring this life force and allowing it to express itself is every bit as important to the emergent order of the world as is the song of the sparrow or the flower-hopping of the bumblebee. Neither the sparrow nor the bumblebee is acting out of duty, projection, trauma, or fear. Rather, they are doing what feels most vital and natural to do. It is in this expression that the world thrives.
To be human and live in this way is a truly radical act. It challenges much of what we have been taught to believe about ourselves. It brings us face-to-face with all the specters of fear that have sought to keep us small and controlled. Emerging into our natural expression is a courageous and challenging process. It is best done in community with others. It is best done with support.
Renegotiating trauma, learning to listen to the language of nature and Self, tuning into the larger story that seeks expression through us: these are all necessary in the journey of becoming more fully human. Doing so not only allows the journeyer to feel more alive—it is a vital component of building a more beautiful world.
This is not just healing, it is surrendering to the inherent wisdom, order, and freedom that lies within the heart of every living being. The revolution will not come merely from the healing of our personal wounds, but by surrendering ourselves to the deeper story that seeks expression through us. From this perspective, our wounds are not something to make go away: rather they are a doorway to the more authentic and beautiful life that awaits us if we only trust.
This is a life worth working toward. The life that allows us to transform the world.
