Beyond life’s few certainties, death and taxes, reside the space for spiritual and emotional growth that offers each of us the opportunity to find fulfillment.
At the moment of our conception, our nature is hard wired with a wide range of physical inclinations that manifest based on the nurture we receive. Optimally, we incubate for forty weeks where we transform into a life ready to function separate from our womb. Our development is a function of our mother’s physical and emotional well being…her access to proper shelter, healthy nutrition, exposure to toxins, physical & emotional stress, and prenatal care. We reach the first stage of our full potential when we are born as a healthy, fully formed baby.
In our infancy, our genetic inclinations are cultivated based on an intricate, intimate web of emotional and physical relationships. Our developmental security is achieved through the formation of an external womb commonly known as family. Here we experience emotional clarity: we are fulfilled when our personal space is synonymous with our family; Otherwise, we are miserable.
During our toddler stage, we are introduced to societal norms…familial roles, culture, personal space, and morays. Here our family prepares us for a second birth…into the world beyond the family. This second stage ends as we embark on our formal education.
Our educational stage, typically in the US from the age of 5 through 18 and beyond, provides the physical, emotional and spiritual foundation of our personal development. Here we get the first glimpse of who we are and how we connect to world around us. We are exposed to the lessons of history, and are provided our first opportunity to internalize those lessons for application in our daily lives. Our full potential is achieved at this third stage when we enter adulthood as a physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy person, fully empowered to contribute to the broader society.
Our baseline expectations are set. The range of career opportunities are framed for primary selection. We are expected to make the choices that will shape the rest of our lives. The core question is how many of us are fully prepared when our critical choices must be made? What are the consequences if we are not ready?
This is where so many of us learn the cruel reality of modern life. Our baseline expectations of building a life that provides security for ourselves and our families are all too often exposed as a romantic notion called free market competition. Yet the competition is not free or fair.
We put our heads down and work like mules in the hopes of earning our way to our dream life. Five, ten years go by, we meet a person who brings us glimpes of happiness. We get married. Now our desire to find security becomes more urgent because it is not just us anymore. Dreams of a life of fulfillment fade into distant memories behind a busy array of tasks and responsibilities.
Why is modern life not more fulfilling today? We have simply exchanged spending most of our time producing what we need to survive, with spending most of our time earning the money to survive. Given all of the technological advances, and the abundance of natural resources, today we have the capability to provide all of humanity the resources each of us can use to reach our full potential.
So what stands in our way? A system of economics that encourages us to take unto ourselves as much as we can. A value structure that indoctrinates us into believing we are separate, independent, self interested individuals who can expect in life only what we earn.
Yet who amongst us earned the mother’s womb that gave us life? Or the years of nurturing provided by our families? Or the countless lessons provided by teachers, mentors, family and friends? In fact, who amongst us earned the love we receive?
We have known since Copernicus that we are not at the center of the universe. The lesson here is we are part of the universe. We are individual members of one humanity who share one planet. Each of us are vitally important because we possess enormous potential to contribute to our well being. In our modern society, we each rely on many individuals to produce the living conditions that sustain us.
How many young adults today are fully empowered to reach their full potential? How many are sufficiently informed to master their highest vocational aspirations? Almost none when compared to our global population.
Up to this moment, even in the richest country on Earth, almost all people live their entire lives working jobs they otherwise would not do but for the need to make money. For a while, desire for money generated higher productivity, but current data indicates this time has passed. Fulfillment is the ultimate inspiration for productivity. To do daily what you feel most passionate about is the fuel that is forever sustainable.
The next step of our social evolution is to align our values with the wisdom of our human experience. E pluribus Unum…out of many, one. Each of us, no matter where we live, is too valuable to waste. None of us, no matter our privilege, can survive without the rest of us. Therefore, we best advance our individual well being by empowering each of us to reach our full potential.
5 replies on “A Human life is a terrible thing to waste…”
Nice perspective. I agree that many of us have more potential than what we’re capable of pursuing given our need to fund our survival. This is true across the entire globe with only a few exceptions. And although it’s much better today than say 100 years ago, it’s still not perfect. The thing I struggle with is there are less than desirable jobs REQUIRED on this earth that have to be done for the society to function. E.g. picking fruit and vegetables, cleaning bathrooms, working on automobiles (mechanics), etc. Someone has to do them. In fact, I’ve done some very undesirable jobs myself through the years. Although automation and mechanization will eliminate some of these required jobs, I believe the majority simply cannot be executed without humans.
I agree that economic status, social class, ethnicity, luck, etc should not be the metric for who gets higher education, who gets the good jobs, or who the lucrative opportunities are presented to.
Let’s assume we could create a different system that would eliminate advantages to certain individuals. Let’s assume that every human would have the opportunity for higher education and finding the dream occupation or vocation that fits their personality, character, soul. Would anybody choose picking lettuce in a hot field in Arizona? Would anybody choose cleaning out sewer pipes and wastewater treatment plants? I think we as a society would have a problem with a lack of volunteers.
So now we’d have to find another means to identify individuals for certain undesirable jobs. So we’d either have to incentivize it somehow, or force people into it. I’m concerned that fixing a system that works (although fraught with problems) creates other problems that may be as bad as the one we’re trying to fix.
I love the thought provoking ideas presented and encourage further brainstorming on how we can effectively, practically, and feasibly improve our global society.
No human endeavor will ever be perfect because humanity is not perfect, But evolution demands we improve our well being over time. Modern life is an improvement over antiquity. Today, we live longer lives because we understand so much more about ourselves and the world that sustains us. My focus is our next evolutionary step. We grow because we must. Living longer, more comfortable lives is not sufficient, especially when it is at the expense of a large portion of the human population. Very few people are fulfilled by our modern lives. The next step is to empower fulfilment. No doubt the details will include unintended consequences. Nonetheless, we must continue to evolve or risk the fate of every species who failed…extinction.
Deeply thought and something to think about. Never really thought of that aspect of it.
“Fulfilment is the ultimate inspiration for productivity. To do daily what you feel most passionate about is the fuel that is forever sustainable.”
I know I am tired of “working for the man” doing something I hate, and having nothing to show for it. I want to be fulfilled with my daily work. I am thankful for what I have, but work fulfillment is something that needs to be done.
My brother, the journey to our fulfilment starts with accepting we all share our highest aspirations. The reason why we fight, hate, hurt, deny, and destroy each other is because we are encouraged to find scapegoats for the gluttony of others. Discover genuine reasons to love all our brothers and sisters of humanity. Then, and only then, will we evolve into a society that empowers each of us to reach our full potential.