Hopes & Fears for the Future by Duane L. Herrmann

My hope for the future is that each human being will recognize their spiritual nature and know that the purpose of life here is to develop and exercise their spiritual qualities. While doing so, the Earth will become transformed into the paradise that has been promised in all the scriptures of the world. Each child will be cherished and nurtured…

SCHREECH! HALT!!!

It ain’t a’gonna happen….at least not in my lifetime anyway. Greed has been promoted for too many centuries as the prime motivator for the pursuit of wealth and comfort to be given up easily. I believe it will happen, but most likely only after considerable pain caused by that same pursuit of wealth and comfort, and the power necessary to extract wealth from others. It is becoming more and more difficult for some to ignore the negative affects caused by greed as we destroy the ecosystems of the planet and alter the climate. When the melting of ice accelerates sufficiently to raise the ocean levels several feet (twenty or more?) and the climate will no longer grow the food we are accustom to eating (which all of our farming equipment is designed to handle) resulting in the deaths of millions by mass drownings and starvation, then the remnant of the population might decide that the pursuit of wealth and comfort may not be the highest goals.

Too few people today recognize that we have already gone a considerable distance down that slope for us to stop now. How much further will we go before enough people wake up? It is my hope and prayer that more and more people will become more aware of the damage we are doing, take steps in their own lives to reduce consumption and turn more and more to renewable sources, and realize that how we treat others is ultimately more important than our own comfort, emotional or physical. People, their lives and welfare, are truly more important than profit. But, how much will be suffered before we, our society, our institutions, our politics, learn this?

While not only hoping for that, I can take steps to demonstrate this in my own life. How do I treat others on a daily basis? Do I acknowledge their humanness? Their reality as spiritual beings? How do I greet strangers, or pass them on the street? It is little things that can change lives, and, thus, the world. Our actions cause ripples in other people’s lives. We can let them be good.