Five Goals for the Era Ahead

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As things fall apart in the coming decade, reforms will fail, half-measures will fail, platitudes will fail, lip service will fail, appeals to past glory will fail–every response of the self-serving status quo will fail.


Though this blog devotes considerable attention to large-scale systems and dynamics, I think the way the next decade plays out largely depends on five individual, internally generated traits. Since perfect attainment of these traits is not possible for us mere mortals, I am listing them as goals:


1. Kindness
2. Compassion
3. Self-discipline (includes self-restraint, self-control and self-motivation)
4. Personal Integrity
5. Detachment


I will have more to say on these in the Musings and future blog entries, but for now it is enough to note that as everything we currently assume is permanent evaporates, the temptation to narcissism, negativity and violence will rise proportionately. Our defense, individually and collectively, is not so much a fruitless devotion to reforming failing systems as an individual, intrinsically personal devotion to kindness, compassion, self-discipline, integrity and (perhaps surprisingly to those with little exposure to Eastern philosophy) detachment.


As things fall apart in the coming decade, reforms will fail, half-measures will fail, platitudes will fail, lip service will fail, appeals to past glory will fail–every response of the self-serving status quo will fail. What will not fail is Kindness, Compassion, Self-discipline, Personal Integrity and Detachment from all that has failed and all that is negative, destructive and counter-productive.