Who controls the worlds resources? Who makes the rules, the laws by which we have to conduct our lives? Who is teaching us about the past and guiding us toward the future? Mostly government and companies run by old men.
Without entering the dark and destructive realm of pessimism, it feels as though the old have been leading us astray. Economic and legal systems seem to me to be rooted in the egos of old men and quite frankly, rotten to the core. I can’t help but feel that there is just too much red tape, too many acronyms, too many meetings and conferences reinforcing outdated ideas and ultimately too free a reign of dogmatic expression. I feel like the supposed leaders of our world; the politicians, the scientists, the doctors, the judges and the super wealthy do not understand and believe in a higher quality of life for their fellow people and other forms of life. Instead of continuously surveying the actual physical needs of our environment, the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of our people, there tends to be a relapsing, dysfunctional expression of destructive behaviour from those on the world stage. It comes in the form of reprimanding, scaring, humiliating, condescending and trying to control and dominate, making a minority feel inferior. When those who call the shots behave in such primal and destructive ways, it leaves us with a massive task to attempt to truly grow as a people. Why are the rules governing our world in favour of such monolithic and wasteful organisations such as oil giants, agricultural tyrants and junk food companies?
This is a cause for concern among sane and caring people all around the world. We talk about it when we take home our salaries, when we hear about wars in the far corners of our earth. We watch documentaries about this shadow cast by such ominous organisations.
But what is happening as a result is truly amazing. One can now see the solutions and indeed the cures for these problems and insane behaviour starting to surface; arising organically in the form of organic food production, a move away from animal testing, a stronger focus on renewable energy, a rise in the importance of womens’ rights and the list goes on. This is so inspiring and is proof of the inherent good and resilience of the human spirit. It does create a contrast between what is possible for us as a species and what we have been lead to believe our value is in this world. We are not only capable of violence and destruction, but we are capable of loving one another despite our differences and creating a beautiful world for all to enjoy. It shows how ignorance can be debilitating and how important it is to love yourself, educate yourself, don’t follow the crowd if it doesn’t feel good and speak up! If you ignore your true self, you will fall prey to someone who wants to exploit you and this is where we have found ourselves as the human race – lead by those who have no interest in environmental sustainability or personal sovereignty – obsessed with short term profit, long terms selfishness and alienation.
We don’t need to be afraid of taking responsibility for ourselves and for our future. For me, this takes the form of eating locally, buying products with minimal packaging, recycling, avoiding highly processed food and chemical laden products, speaking up about injustice, saying no to violent movies and reckless companies and trying to find and support people and organisations who are committed to a sustainable future. I do believe that we have been and are constantly lead astray by many an irresponsible company, politician or celebrity. But it is becoming increasingly easy, affordable and rewarding to lead a balanced, healthy and successful life without supporting unethical organisations. I hope this article is filled with hope and not despair – knowledge is power.
Harmonise Yoga 