The world is in great pain. Distracted by constant noise, the problems of today go unsolved. Slowly, we slip into a chasm of chaos. Something must be done. The world must change, and it must do so fast because the consequences are coming quickly. Soon, whether it be from climate change, economic disaster, or even just the continuation of the current situation - the world will collapse.

For thousands of years humans have survived on collaboration. It is not sustainable to live in a world where more than half the population struggles to get basic needs met. A world with the resources to provide a stable, and prosperous quality of life for all, that instead uses its resources to build wealth for a select few individuals, leaving the rest to starve, struggle, and work in enslavement to create this wealth is not worth it.  While many argue that capitalism offers the opportunity for all to earn success, what they fail to see is that in this system no matter the effort, there will always be those at the bottom. To get ahead is not an opportunity afforded to everyone. No one choses where they are born and yet it is exactly that arbitrary measure that has the greatest predictor in the outcome of their life. It is not an efficient system to allow great potential of the world go to waste simply because they happened to be born in conditions that are not favorable to the status quo. Regardless of what is said by those fortunate enough to carve out a place for themselves at the top of this society, opportunities are not afforded equally. Regardless of the technical equality that exists, the current society is not build for this equality. May it be possible to be born in poverty and earn a scholarship and simply move up the latter of social mobility? Yes. But it is never that simple. In areas of poverty, there is never just one hurdle. When in poverty, everything is a hurdle. While a child looking to move up the economic latter may be offered opportunities in the form of scholarships, or affirmative action, these are not equalizers. Someone who grows up in a poverty-stricken household must work much harder in order to bridge the gap of learning caused by a lack of exposure to the same richness in language, books, as well as life experiences like travel, they are also disadvantaged in terms of having a quiet place to work, learn, explore their curiosities. In addition to their underfunded schools, they will not have the same resources when it comes to seeking help. Both academic, as well as mental and physical health. With all these factors against them, if they are fortunate enough to have a stable family structure that supports them, allowing them to get out of this life, they will always struggle to be treated as equals in the society they enter. Constantly working to earn an equal place that will never be granted. Even some of those who have the means to leave may be pulled back into their life of poverty by a necessity to care for others in their family. Those in poverty have worse health outcomes, as well as more significant health problems that arises from lack of proper nutrition and clean water. It is not simple just to work hard and escape. It is not equal.

Throughout history there has been many different systems of governance. The general structure tends to be a hierarchy in some sort. This follows logically, as in nature, hierarchies tend to exist among communities. However, just because something is natural, does not mean that is the way things ought to be. Hierarchies served a purpose in nature. When survival was uncertain and there was not time for a proper democratic process to make important decisions, it was advantageous to follow a structure based upon the general dominance as it creates some sort of order and thus survival becomes easier. When the first civilizations sprung up, this was the natural stepping point. Those who already had dominance formally cemented their rule through the structures in which formed. It is unsurprising that the pyramid is a structure deeply rooted in the subconscious of humankind found both in Egypt and South America as this represents the general foundation of civilization. The idea that those who are closer to the top hold more power as they have more below them and are closer to a divine presence.

However, there would be no point in surviving long enough to analyze the choices of our past if not to learn from their flaws. In a hierarchical society, the flow of resources is up. To produce such a flow, there must be consequences and rewards to create the desired behavior of those whose labor is actually used. Those on the very top use their power to command those just below them. Those below them, still in a position of power, wealth and esteem, do the same to those who report them, however, they will have to use more force, as those directly below them benefit less than they themselves. This cycle continues until it reaches the ground, where coercion becomes the strongest, often resorting to forced servitude to get results.

We tend to think ourselves far off from this ancient system, however, how much have things fundamentally changed?

Power has flowed throughout history; it has belonged to many different hands. However, the system is often borrowed and reused. What truly is the difference between a King, a dictator, or one of todays billionaires. Yes, each may come with a different set of customs and direct powers, however they hold the same categorical position in society and the influence that comes with that. Even though the billionaires of today are not always political leaders, they still command their influence over their subjects through both marketing, wages, and with influence in the democratic processes. To believe that the voices in the world are equally heard is foolish. Often the voices of the masses come directly from a repetition of what was said by some billionaire or celebrity. This relationship is more complex than the simple tyrant relationship of the past, however the structure remains.

The main difference between now, and then is that now anyone can become a tyrannical king - -  - though you are much more likely based upon being born into fortunate circumstances.

This is not equality. Just because someone had a new idea and found a way to exploit a market, does not make them any more qualified to understand the world around them.

This ultimately is what it boils down to.

For much of our history we have been progressing simply for the reason of progress. We have built higher and higher mountains of wealth and gradually the quality of life has improved along with it. However, as we mindlessly pollute our world and drain our resources it becomes important to ask for what are we doing this for.

An uncomfortable question to ask surely, but important, nonetheless.

Personally, in my experience of life, I have concluded that not much else matters besides love.

When I think about life and the incredible, indescribable miracle that it is to exist, the beauty of the experience and the glorious mystery of the Universe and its story that surrounds us, I can’t help but feel a powerful force of love fill me. When I think of the ones that I love, it becomes so clear to me that this story is that of a story of love.

Perhaps that is the origin of our violent past. Perhaps upon discovering our own existence, and beginning to question that which is around us, we became broken-hearted. We found ourselves utterly confused, irritated, and alone. Maybe with such a feeling it became an action out of pain to create such a world. Perhaps we have spent the better part of our existence trying to fill the void left by our broken hearts. Trying to find the end of an endless path of consumption and greed.

We must be wiser. We must have faith. We must believe there is more to this than we know.

Every day something completely knew is discovered about the world – and that is only its discovery. There is a big difference between knowing something is there and understanding what it means in the context of a whole.

In the scale of understanding, we are only infants, fetus even. We cannot even begin to comprehend the picture in which we sit.

Although within my lifetime I may never know the full picture, I will spend all my life, until my very last days, fighting, and believing in the possibility of a future in which all that exists lives harmoniously in understanding.

Perhaps if headed in the right direction there might be a day in which our future ancestors understand all that surrounds them, maybe they even begin to collide the planes of existence, becoming one with all. One with the past, the present, the future, and even one with the gods.

What I believe more than anything else though, is that the only way this becomes a future, is if we begin to act out of love. We must surrender to the love within ourselves, and the love that surrounds us. We must love one another, mend our own broken hearts and heal those that our fate collides us with. Together we can begin to imagine such a reality. We can begin to dream of a world built out of the purest love you can imagine. A world built to serve love, to serve good, to serve the only thing that seems to matter in this world.

We must come to terms with our existence. As far as I can see, there are no do-overs, there is nothing come to save us. We must save ourselves.

But doing so has the greatest reward of all. To surrender to love is to realize that you were pure love all along. It is to realize that all you ever truly wanted was good. It is to realize that anything bad you have ever done, desired, or aided in only happened because of your own broken heart. To surrender is to forgive yourself, to realize it is not your fault and the issue stems far beyond your life. It is to realize that you were most yourself when you entered this world, that the greed, anger, and hate within has corrupted your existence, not made you more of yourself.

By surrendering to love you free yourself. You free that part of yourself that has been shoved so far underneath you have forgotten it entirely.

Doing this is not easy though. Often, we fall into this cycle. As we are born and want good, but the circumstances of life have created other traits within us, we begin to identify with the bad. We begin to see ourselves as bad, as evil, selfish, and greedy. We fail to see that every action of bad comes from a place of hurt. As we identify with the bad, we use whatever justification we can to stay on this path. What we often fail to realize though, is that this is self-hatred. Every action in which we harm someone else, we do so because we hate ourselves. We believe ourselves to be bad, evil, selfish, and so out of hatred we force ourselves to do bad things to rectify this self-image. To forgive yourself is the hardest thing you can ever do. It is to realize that you do not want bad. You do not want to hurt, you only hurt because you are afraid to love. You are afraid that you are too evil, too greedy, and selfish to love. But you must surrender to love. Otherwise hate wins, and the world has no future.

So for the sake of the world, and the sake of yourself, surrender to love.

Search yourself, search your childhood. Confront things in which you keep repressed and locked away. Ask yourself where things started to turn. Ask yourself what you wanted, feel, and believe about things. What have you been told is wrong, what have you been discouraged from doing? What did you abandon because everyone else told you it was pointless, or unrealistic.

It is within these questions that it will becomes so clear that we were once all bright-eyed beams of light, full of endless love and possibility. We learned to hate, we learned to be angry. Watching the world from below the tradition of pain is passed on.  Enforced by a system of progress for the benefit of the few and the servitude of the rest. The stress of such a system creates the anger, creates the hate in which we witness as a child. Everyone is in pain. And those who are benefiting turn us against each other, tell us to blame a group rather than to see the complexity of the issue. With the world screwing you at every turn, and with your soul in shackles it becomes impossible to understand and empathize rather than to turn to anger. Whenever people are at ends with each other, both so tired from misery of life, whether acknowledged within them or not, they seek to argue rather than understand. When a child does things children do, adults too exhausted from the life in which they must live become exhausted with the child. The child takes this upon themselves and thus the cycle is repeated. The child becomes the adult and does the same to their children.

We must ask what the core of this pain is. Why is life such a struggle, is it its nature? Often it seems so, that no matter what could exist struggle may be inevitable, and while this is likely true, the nature of that struggle can change. Perhaps instead of an external struggle to provide a house, food, and a better quality of life for your family, the struggle could instead be one of an internal nature. The only struggle could be that of figuring out who you are, what you are destined to be, what impact will you leave on this world.

We are taught to believe such ideas as money and personal ownership as fundamental to our nature. However, the only thing fundamental to our nature seems to be that we exist, the rest is up to us to shape.

What truly would be the consequences of such a life in which no one is top another and all that is necessary is provided for all.

Yes, there would still be those that have to labor, however, in such a world in which everyone contributes to a common goal, such a labor could easily be understood to be of great importance. Thus, those who decide to spend their life doing things such as manual labor can do so with full satisfaction of their importance, and without the stress that accompanies providing their way of life. They would be free to travel just as much as anyone can travel. To write, to take upon any hobbies in which suits them. They would be free. Choosing to labor would be simply because of all things they can choose to be labor is the one in which they find most satisfying to themselves.

When thought through logically, there really is no reason to hold some above others. All that exists must exist for the Universe to be exactly as it is destined to be. Remove one and the whole things crumbles in ways we cannot even imagine. Doctor or farmer, the difference truly lies in that which the individual finds satisfying. Yes, some may argue that to be a doctor one must commit more time to studies, however, what makes this time more valuable. Is the farmer not also committing their time to the tasks which need to be undertaken for their profession?

We are blinded by the world of today. Stuck within a framework that creates value based upon money.

We must break free of this. We must force ourselves to view things as they are.

Why would a farmer want to be a doctor if farming is what makes them happy, and vice versa.

The difference lies in the individual, in their experiences, their passions, interests, and the aspect of life that makes them themselves.

Yes, some things may have a greater complexity than others. An understanding of the brain takes far longer to obtain than an understanding of soil composition.

However, just because something is more complex, does not make a person better than another for understanding it. Perhaps the farmer just does not find the brain to be as interesting as soil and does not want to undertake the task it would require understanding it. So, should the doctor then have a better quality of life simply because of what they deem as interesting? Why should the doctor not understand the brain simply because it fascinates them, help others simply because they wish to do good and enjoy the same freedoms and luxuries as the farmer in their free time.

To be equal, does not mean to be the same though. The doctor may find their satisfaction in life through travel. They may wish to have a nice apartment in a populated city, while the farmer wishes to have a nice house out in the country. Thus, there is room for both to be happy. Equality does not mean the same.

If everyone dreamt of the same life there would be a problem, however, this issue is naturally resolved in the fact that everyone hold a unique dream of life.

If buildings were simply buildings, apartments simply apartments, houses simply house, there would be room for all. If there was not, more could be built. The same as now.

IF there is more demand for one over another, more of that kind could be built.

We must break free from how we view ownership. Why should a person own something that will live longer than them? To own a house even though many more after you will live in the same walls?

What would be wrong with simply living there.

Making it your own, absolutely, but understanding that these are simply walls built from materials from the Earth and humbly accepting that you do not own the Earth.

I imagine that anyone reading this now is either thinking one of two things –

1.   This all sounds good but how could this be possible.

2.   This isn’t possible.

3.   How could you get there?

I would like to respond with this – the limits of what is possible and impossible are set by ourselves. What we chose to do. The question is not whether it could exist, the question is how do you create it.

The creation of such a world I believe to be possible and difficult, but also inevitable.

If we allow ourselves to surrender to love, and to face the cause of our pain as individuals and as a species we will see that at its core is greed and competition. This realization coupled with the backdrop of a collapsing world will lead to the ultimate realization that the only way out and forward is through a new order built upon the ideas of collaboration and collective resources.

If we are able to reorient ourselves towards reality, not the reality that is told to us, but the reality of our existence we will realize that many things in which we have thought to be important are not, many things which we think to be impossible are not. We are limited by the society that we exist in.

And so I do truly believe that with the right action towards spreading this message. Spreading the message of love and truth, the natural outcome will be a widespread, unseen global collaboration that will work to save the Earth from its current trajectory and place it on one that will spread peace and love throughout the Universe.

We must remember that change is inevitable. The young will become the old, and new will replace them, and so soon it will be our world to change. Soon it will be our turn.

When it does come our time to decide how it is our generation wants to impact the world, we should ask ourselves what really matters.

I love you all.

- Jacob