Dear Friends,
I have been asking:
What is most important in creating a healthy, vibrant society?
One answer for me is a sense of BELONGING — that every person knows he or she has value, regardless of name, status, or position.
In Thich Nhat Hanh’s words, “We inter-are.”
Walk into a forest, and we know that no tree is better than another. They all have their beauty, and all the trees together make up the forest.
THE AILMENT
In the US, we have a crisis of separation, where nearly 3 in 5 teen girls (57%) say they feel "persistently sad or hopeless."
The majority of teenage girls!
One factor, I think, is social media. When young people go on social media, what do they experience?
They mainly see a world of separateness, where not only they are rated but every post they share is also rated. Everything has a freaking number!
THE MEDICINE
Many teens (and adults) experience themselves as isolated trees with ratings plastered on them, not as inherently magical beings that are an essential part of a forest.
This does two things:
NARCISSISM in those with high scores and a complete fixation on “their brand.”
DESPAIR in those with low scores or popularity. Studies and research by the Surgeon General have confirmed this.
The Medicine is a sense of belonging, realizing we are a part of a community or forest.
WISDOM 2.0
I launched Wisdom 2.0 because I wanted to see if technology could foster human connection and awareness, not destroy it.
In 3 months from now we will be gathering in San Francisco for OUR 15th ANNUAL WISDOM 2.0!
If you want to join us in person:
SEE OPTIONS HERE >>>
And if you want to join us virtually from your home:
SEE OPTIONS HERE >>> ($25 - $75)
THE ANSWER
Some of this depends on the technology companies, and some of this depends on each of us.
Do we brag about ourselves, thinking we are better than others, creating separation? Or do we see ourselves as a victim, and unworthy, reinforcing separateness in another way?
We have another choice. One of my teachers, Stephen Levine, would say:
“We are not trying to be perfect, we are trying to discover that within us that is perfection.
That is the medicine.
May we live and experience this today!
Blessings,
What is most important in creating a healthy, vibrant society?
Here's something to deal with that:
ESSAY CONTEST with Cash Prizes! Due February 14.
It’s January 1, 2050. How, in 2024, did we pull off saving the world?
https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/an-essay-contest-its-january-1-2050
I got tired of not getting engagement here on Substack for what we-the-people could do in this dysfunctional world, so I’ve stuck my wallet out to stimulate thinking!