This is Gene Tierney. You know, we all listen to the news and at times question the prospects of our collective future. Sometimes our human nature just doesn’t seem up to the job of long term term civilization building. We may feel pessimistic about the future. At other times, we may feel more optimistic and find ourselves believing in the system that has produced so much innovation and progress.
While these two perspectives are opposites in terms of their outcomes, they share an important quality in common. Each of them releases us as individuals from personal responsibility. It’s either our human nature or the system that will determine our future, but not us. And this leaves us in an uncomfortable position, waiting for the outcome. Well, if there was a third way to think about our collective future a path that puts us back in control, what would it look like?
What if, for example, we discover that our human nature isn’t a fixed set of characteristics, but instead is evolving over time through a process familiar to us? And what if this new way of looking at our human nature helps us understand the changes taking place all around us today and allows us to predict changes in the future and to seize new opportunities? And what if it turns out that the magic of human innovation isn’t about the genius in the heads of others as much as about the intentions in the hearts of us all? And while this quality is mysterious, it is also a fundamental aspect of our world and within our power to control. And what if this new perspective deepens our personal faith journeys, connects us with our neighbors and gives us new hope and energy?
Beloved Community Action is a weekly discussion group, open to all and free of charge, dedicated to exploring this third path towards sustainability, inclusivity, justice and prosperity for all. I’m inviting you all to join us. For more information on upcoming events, please go to www.belovedcommunityaction.org. Thank you.
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