I’m an optimist, but not a mindless optimist. There’s no shortage of horror in the world, but I can see the bigger picture, and that picture is wild and exciting.
What if I told you that I’m the kind of guy who bounces out of bed every morning and says:
“What a glorious world to be living in!”
“What a potent and exciting moment in history it is today!”
“What an honour it is to be part of the most wonderful civilisation in history!”
“Where am I and can you help me find my pants?”
What does that say about the kind of person I am?
I’m more than a glass-half-full kind of guy. I’m more of a give-everyone-a-glass-it’s-my-shout kind of guy.
I’m optimistic, for sure. You would say that. But a mindless optimist? How about realistic? How about naive? How about borderline delusional with narcissistic tendencies?
For most people, the description above conjures up an image of some Forrest Gump kind of character, living in some La-La fantasy land, and just too stupid to see how dangerous and horrifying the world really is. Their innocence is sweet, but ultimately they’re just dysfunctional.
But what if I said, that I know we’ve still got problems – big problems – but no matter how you cut it up, this is the most peaceful, abundant, connected and wonderful time in human history, ever.
“C’mon Jon. Don’t you watch the news?”
- ISIS is causing havoc in Syria and Iraq.
- The Ukraine and Russia are on the brink of war.
- Malaysian Airlines flights are dropping like flies.
- There’s an Ebola outbreak in Africa.
- Surfers are being eaten by sharks in Byron Bay.
- Apple is having issues with its new operating software.
Sure, I see all that stuff. And I recognised that if you’re caught up in any of those stories, or any of the thousands of storms of poverty, disease and violence playing out across the world right now, you’re going through some shit.
Right now, you’re life isn’t much fun.
But I can see the bigger picture. The global picture.
I can see that on any measure, this is the most peaceful time on earth.
I know that can sound like a ridiculous thing to say. We’re very conscious about the wars and violent crimes that are going on around the world right now. But statistically it’s true.
Right now, the chance of a human being being killed by another human being is relatively tiny.
Check out the work of Harvard professor Steven Pinker (excellent TED talk here). Not now, read the rest of the article, post a comment and THEN watch the video… I’m the boss!
…anyway, I’ll quickly summarise.
He reckons that violent deaths as a percentage of all deaths has declined dramatically over the centuries. Tribal warfare was nine times as deadly as war and genocide in the 20th century (which included 2 world wars!). The murder rate of medieval Europe was over 30 times what it is today.
I can also see that humans are beings are becoming more compassionate, more generous, and more caring. Empathy has come along in leaps and bounds, not just to other races and nations, but to other species, even the planet as a whole.
Consider this. In medieval London you could go along to the theatre and watch someone tie a cat to a pole and then set it on fire. That was entertainment. You could buy tickets at Ticketek.
That this idea horrifies you – seems inconceivably cruel – shows you just how far we’ve come. It shows you just how advanced human virtues actually are.
I can also see that we don’t have a shortage of anything on this planet. ANYTHING!
Take food for example. I can see that there are famines in certain places and people are dying from hunger, but it’s not because there isn’t enough food on the planet. We already produce more food than the entire global population needs.
If people are starving it’s a distribution challenge (and often tied to war), not a production challenge.
Same goes for energy. Fossil fuels are on the way out, but more sunlight energy hits the earth every hour than we use in a year. We just have to learn to harness it. But we’re doing that. Within 10-20 years, solar will have a total cost advantage over any other source of power. 50% of American cities will be solar powered.
And what about fresh water? Water wars are tipped to be a big part of the future, but our planet is 70% water. We’ve just got to get the salt out of it.
But there’s already a machine the size of a bar-fridge that does that – at 2c a litre. Hook it up to solar energy and the cost is negligible.
The future is abundant. Abundant energy, food and water. If those things are abundant, what space is there for war?
It’s this global, historical perspective (the big, big picture) that helps me accept and find peace with all the messed-up things humans continue to do to each other and the planet.
But I’m definitely not going to let myself get depressed because the evolution of our species is slower than I’d like.
And this sense that we’re at some incredibly fascinating tipping point in history really gets my juices flowing. There is no historical precedent for what the 21st Century will be like.
Our economic system – and great swathes of our culture – are built on the idea of scarcity. There isn’t enough to go around, so people will pay for little there is.
But abundance changes everything. If everyone can just 3D-print what ever they want in their own home, using free power from the sun, what does business actually look like in 50 years?
It’s wild and fascinating. And it gets me pumping out of bed in the morning, and straight on to the hunt for my pants.
But what do you reckon? Are we living in the greatest time in history? Or is the world still crappy and I’ve lost the plot?
Are you inspired and pumped about the future?
Debbie Petlueng says
I like your attitude of looking for abundance and positivite changes. I also take this view and find many great experiences. I believe that media and governments purposely encourage a climate of fear, pessimism, and negativity as this is a way to get people to do what you want and remain passive. Stop watching the news and instead subscribe to good news social and science sites. It is wonderful all the great things happening in the world
Ana says
John: your articles should be in the news headlines!! The entire world should read them And this Will become a slightly different world!!! Thanks for this great perspective!!
Richard says
Somewhere in between. It could be good if the bad guys just let it be. But being bad guys, they can’t. And being bad guys, they play with bad toys. BIG BAD GUYS have big bad toys, like nuclear weapons. So the Good Guys gotta have ’em too. One day, some bad guy nutter is going to lose what little cool he had and press a button that can’t be stopped. Then it will be ‘all over red rover’, no matter how good your intentions are or how optimistic you are about the future. When the fox gets into the hen-house, the chickens don’t sit down and negotiate a truce!!
But until then, life for US will go on pretty much as normal. Pity about the rest of the world…
Now, where’s my pants?
Dave says
We just need to rid the world of the psychopathic leaders and things will settle down.
Andrew says
As Jon contends, there won’t be an issue of scarcity that causes future wars, but there will still be sociopaths and egomaniacs (usually called politicians) that will ensure they send young men off to die in order to secure more power and influence for themselves.
Hopefully we will find a better model than the current model of democracy…
Sowrabh Behl says
if we ever met in real life, we’d get along like a house on fire… i totally agree to this..
Just yesterday I was watching the commemoration of 100 years from World War I and my gosh the horrors that people had to deal with are almost unspeakable in today’s terms. I couldn’t imagine living in that. We are blessed to be born in this era of abundance, peace and prosperity.. and especially to be living in such a country…
Nathan says
Yes for all the bad stuff going on this is a great time to be alive. For certain the increase in media coverage and their desire for sensationalism means they will zero in on anything terrible & frightening and make it seem like it’s next door but 500 years ago we would not have heard anything about it and would have only known what was going on in our village with all else being a distant rumour. And things in my village are going ok.
Anka Bosanac says
Another masterpiece, Jon!
I also feel and think that the world is now better than ever. Apart from what you mentioned already, I also notice the following wonderful trends: Many people share useful information for free or just symbolic amount of money, many people are involved in humanitarian work; many people are interested in creating more happiness and wealth for themselves and the world around; many people can’t be manipulated any more, totally different generations (more conscious) are born into this world… And the list goes on.
How the world looks to each of us depends on what we look for, what ‘glasses we put on’ and on putting aside our personal experience for a moment and looking at the bigger picture instead.
Jon Giaan says
Yes. I see that too. Moer and more people are looking beyond their backyards, and thinking about how they can make the world a better place. And Peter Diamandis, a hero of mine, says the world’s biggest challenges are the world’s biggest markets. It’s an exciting way to think about business – how do I make a billion people better off…
Graeme says
What a shame the media don’t get you to write their articles….
Simon says
there’s a glitch for the lower end of society, my rent and bills are 2200 / month, and my biz is in direct competition with china,. I haven’t got the resources to redirect my biz, tho’ my designs are much in demand
there’s a cutoff, under the line, you don’t have enuf resources to survive, over the line, the increase accumulates faster than you can spend it without wasting it,
I lost everything in a fire, and because, in the words of the govt. it was the wrong fire, I’m not eligible for any help, I’m not eligible for the dole, because I’m working all hours
I’m well aware that my sheets, which were cut off a roll of curtain material $1.99 / meter are softer than royalty had 100 years ago, but I can work 100 hours / week, and still be hounded by creditors
Damon says
To put what Jon says into perspective have alook at Cosmic Voyage, 30min video narrated by Morgan Freeman (you an google it). Then see where we fit in the scheme of things and appreciate what little time we get here.
Luke says
Life in Half a Second – Matthew Michalewicz (good book).
Tom says
I also have been told that my waking brain is ruled by my Pants!!! My commiserations Mate!
Progress has improved our life expectancy to levels that could only be dreamed of in bygone ages.
On a per capita basis, the chances of a violent death have declined, certainly. But we must not rest on our laurels! There is still a hell of a way to go. Greed and ego will always be problems for society. The primeval ideas of Divinities and other such “Certainties” are fortunately giving way as a result of science and rational thought processes. However, fear is still the prime motivation behind control of humanity. If fear of the tribe in the next valley has abated, and fear of Thor or some other anthropomorphic entity associated with what are now understood to be quite natural, physically explainable phenomena has disappeared from our collective consciousness, there yet is hope for humanity. Biology in its various disciplines is gradually clarifying our position in the spectrum of interrelated and inter dependent species, with links and traceable inheritances going right back to the earliest life forms.
What is it about our human self-consciousness that makes us assume that we are anything but advanced animals? The opposed thumb has a lot to answer for!!!
If we assume we have a spirit, where in the branching tree of life forms did we become bi-natured?
It is understandable that as our brains developed, we became more aware of ‘self’ as a distinct individual in a community. The sense of loss at the death of loved ones and the natural tendency to avoid our own death made it imperative that we develop explanations for what we did not fully understand.
Different cultures, in different environments, developed different explanations.
The human brain is an absolutely amazing gift which we have inherited.
Where are we storing all the old information?
Do we have a collective consciousness like the modern IT cloud?
If so, is that what holds us in close affinity with other lifeforms, as identified in numerous cultures? Is our URL in that realm what might be referred to as our spirit or our soul?
What is the nature of and what is the source of the “Universal Life Force Energy”, upon which we draw in administering Reiki? It’s definitely real, but currently unexplained.
Are there other dimensions?
The developments in modern Physics, are approaching the realms of what used to be thought of as metaphysical. Just read “The Dancing Woo Lee Masters” or “The Tao of Pooh” and such books and it is fascinating what human brains are discovering about humanity.
Hopefully, an improved human collective awareness will generate societies which no longer have to be dominated by psychopaths and power-hungry politicians.
All religions are evolving figments of the minds of men, trying to explain their surroundings. What woman would come up with the degrading tenets of Christian or Islamic debasement of half of humanity?
Believe whatever you like, but don’t assume you have any right to force your ideas on anybody else. I may believe that my thumb is a GOD. But you don’t have any right to say that your belief in your own thumb is any more justified.
The idea of gods was initiated as an effort to explain or account for mysteries. Politicians jumped on the bandwagon, using the deities whom they claimed as their own exclusive domain and became the priests, lording it over their fellows and demanding tithes. This way they did very nicely and controlled society, bringing law and order – & beliefs.
Fundamentalism, in any age or creed, is basically the death throes of the institution they represent. They know instinctively that their certainty is unfounded, but they are unwilling to grasp the nettle of reality. Instead, they dig their heels in and aggressively resist the inevitable. Fragmentation of the institution into disparate sects is another sign of impending demise. An age of enlightenment will follow. Let’s hope the rate of change is rapid!!!
Instead of ‘male dominance’, mankind must come up with more inclusive systems of social control.
Is it purely coincidental that technological improvements have been accompanied by social improvements? I think not.
It is understandable that despite the innate weaknesses in human nature, modern communities are developing more inclusive and accommodating mores. This will spread throughout all mankind.
Fortunately, this tendency is an innate aspect of higher forms of animals. When one community develops a new ability or feature, it seems that a collective awareness makes it pop up elsewhere in that species.
The aspirations of billions of people, connected via the internet, are an irresistible force. If Putin can be persuaded to keep his nukes in their silos, there is certainly a bright future for an evolving humanity – with gurus like Jon fanning the flames of social improvement.
ed says
Tom,
You have made some interesting points on several topics and issues. Overall I like most of your ideas and we need more thinking and aware/awake people like yourself.
We may be living longer but are we more healtier?
It is just non-sense to say that violent dead declined… How can you be so indifferent? Over the last 10-15 years, how many violent dead occurred, and still goes on…
In relation to Putin, you may need to do more research to find the real truth behind exopolitical issues. As a start, please check this. http://ommekeer-nederland.nl/documents/letter-putin-en.pdf
http://www.davidicke.com, http://exopolitics.blogs.com/
Mikey says
I’ll be the first to buy a ticket if someone wants to tie a cat to a pole and burnt it. The horrible things shouldn’t be in Australia. I’ll watch it night after night. PLEASE SOMEONE MAKE A SHOW LIKE THIS.
Vern Silver says
Why shouldn’t they be in Australia?
Annie Kinnane says
PUMPED!! wow you said all of that so well … alot of my friends like I”m stir crazy for believing what you wrote, but you put such great rationale behind it … thank you!
Donna says
Yes we are surely blessed for this time. There will always be duality in this world – that is the natural diversity of life (otherwise it would be boring!). If we want to see the beauty in the planet it is there in abundance of opportunities at this time. If we want to find our darkest side its there too. Importantly tho there are many people now on this planet that have never first hand experienced war or genecide or murder, a freedom that our ancestors did not get to enjoy! The future is inspiring – and its going to get better ! We just need to believe in our creative ability- to create the world more how we want.
lilmis says
There is still lots of evil in the world. Its the rules and regulations
in place by our government that keeps you safe and tames evil so princesses can enjoy
waking up to a remarkable day.
Keith Mewes says
Jon it is so refreshing to read such a positive blog. The doom & gloom that the media and so many commentators spout every day is just ridiculous! As you say there is so much that is positive about this planet and human beings and what we are achieving. I will be sharing this post with everyone that I can!
Anonymous says
Thanks for another great article!
However I think some points are being overlooked to left out..
One of these is about how in 10-20 years solar power will be so cost effective, that 50% of the US will be solar-powered…
The problem with this is the very same problem the world encountered in the early 1900’s. Nikolai Tesla had engineered a machine that could provide the world with FREE wire-less electricity. It could also send wire-less message across great stretches of distance. Tesla managed to gain funding from JP Morgan, America’s biggest banker at the time, in order to build the device (a tall tower). When Morgan found out about it’s ability to provide free electricity (in other words, that he couldn’t make money off it), he pulled all funding and had the tower demolished..
So why should things be different this time? Australia suffers the same problem as the US, where the guys who own the power sources(oil, electricity, gas etc), are the ones who heavily back the law-makers. So unless we can help these guys own the sun I doubt we’ll see mass solar power reaching the world. Your hot water tank might be the only solar-powered object you’ll ever own.
If you ask me, we live in a time where we need to do whatever it takes to look after ourselves and our immediate family. Then worry about everything else. Currently, the distribution of wealth is so far-fetched, so disproportional, that most people would probably fall over if you told them. There’s something to write a message about. Like, for example, the top 1% in the US own over 40% of the wealth.. Or in Australia, where the top 20% own more than every other quin-tile put together (57% of the household wealth) http://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2012/mar/images/graph-0312-3-02.gif
This can be seen on a global scale at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWSxzjyMNpU
Or at a US scale at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vttbhl_kDoo
Andrew says
Check under your bed and in your wardrobe….. They are there watching what you type………
Freeandclear says
Jon you are a Guru. Add to your list the life expectancy increase, the cures, vaccinations and treatments for most of the world’s medical problems, and the information freedom from tyranny and religion.
Many religions pivot on the ‘fact’ that things are getting worse and worse “in the last days”… But this is patently untrue.
More please!!!!!
adslkpt3 says
The big or macro is great, especially in the Lucky Country. The locality in the world or micro is quite horrid. I think I can contribute usefully if I can put on my pants to turn around wicked causes and not tarry overlong on the symptoms. It is critical to see what is the problem, my priorities and if I can, my contribution.