Being decent is hard, it’s a process…

Jaron Lanier

I recently listened to an episode of the Ezra Klein podcast (my absolute favorite podcast, by the way). He was interviewing Jaron Lanier. You’ve probably never heard of this guy, but he’s an American computer philosophy writer, computer scientist, visual artist, composer of classical music and a pioneer in the field of virtual reality. He’s also a guy who “trip-sat” a dying Richard Feynman on LSD…

Anyway, something I heard on the show that resonated was this idea of “homeopathic utopia.”

What in the hell is that?, you ask…

Well, according to Lanier being decent is hard work. It’s a process that takes a lifetime, or perhaps several lifetimes, to achieve. Rather than trying to change society all at once, by, for instance, revolutionary force, perhaps incremental change on an individual level, properly motivated to bring about desired results, is a better way.

It’s more of a homeopathic, or natural, remedy to societal ills…hence this idea of homeopathic utopia.

Haven’t we seen that throughout history sweeping changes to systems of status quo don’t always bring about those desired results. Revolutionaries that have replaced dictatorial regimes with totalitarian communistic ones is a great example.

Perhaps what we need more of is just good-ole-fashioned common decency, as Lanier suggests.

And that brings me to the salient point of this post…

You see the whole point of this blog, despite its revolutionary moniker, is just that…to inspire decency. The title of the blog, Revolutionary Misfit, probably misleads some to believe that what I’m advocating is sweeping, or “revolutionary”, change, but I’m really not at all. I believe that should become apparent to anyone who actually takes the time to read some of the posts contained herein…

However, many don’t do that and quickly jump to faulty conclusions…and that’s never a good idea.

The concept of mindfulness is one you hear a lot about these days, usually in the context of a more meditative day-to-day existence. And I am advocating a sort of meditative, or better yet, contemplative, mode of existence. One in which you actually think, or reflect, before acting. Isn’t that what we have a brain for?

It’s easier to just go through life reacting. My idea is that one can achieve a far better quality of life, for oneself and others who are influenced or impacted by us, by focusing on that pause between stimulus and response.

And what should be the object of our focus? In a word often heard within this blog…

impact.

Impact mindfulness suggests that the best way to manage our impacts, so that they are more positive for people and planet, is by…

• prioritizing impact over interest
• embracing the concept of the Big US, and
• removing impact blinders.

If the above sounds confusing, then think of it in these much simpler terms…

Impact mindfulness suggests that the three most important components of impact are…

• Altruism
• Inclusion, and
• Open-Mindedness.

And if you step back and give that some deep thought, I believe you’ll agree that those three ideas, or states of being, comport far better with reality than their opposites.

For instance, the Ayn Rand-inspired, look out for number one only, ideology that has spawned neoliberalism has reaped some pretty harsh havoc on people and planet. In this blog you’ll find many posts about just that.

At least that’s what I strongly believe.

Now, if you think altruism is a waste of time and that you should live your life completely self-interested, then I suggest you reflect a bit deeper on what it might mean if everyone thought that way. In actuality, enough already do and that type of thinking has unleashed evils upon us all, such as inequality that’s spiraling out of control, a planet that’s rapidly overheating, and the realistic threat of the 6th great extinction of life on earth.

Embracing the concept of the Big US simply means what Bernie Sanders and Pope Francis often say themselves…that we’re all in this together.

Could anything be more true?

After all, we’re all occupying this revolving rock called planet earth. At present, it’s the only home we have. And the land masses that we occupy are rapidly shrinking as a rising ocean overtakes them inch by inch. So, we’d better learn to get along and think more inclusively.

Nationalistic thinking of the kind inspired by Donald Trump, in the face of a rapidly rising population and a shrinking area of land mass to accommodate it, just doesn’t make a lick of sense and will ultimately lead to disastrous consequences.

Finally, who can argue with the idea of keeping an open mind?

Well, in fact, many do. Usually the main culprits behind close-mindedness are religion and politics. Lately, especially in America, those two have combined to create a sort of tribalism that widely claims legitimate news to be fake and science that is not part of our day-to-day experience as nothing more than unproven theory.

Impact Mindfulness suggest the better way is to keep an open mind about such things. That is, to eagerly search for the truth and not let preconceived notions about the way things are, or ought to be, get in the way of that search.

What I am suggesting here is that the world could become a better place, not by sweeping revolutionary change, but incremental change via mindfulness…impact mindfulness.

Why not start now…before it’s too late?

Along those lines, here’s a quote by Martin Luther King during a famous speech at the Riverside Church that I found inspirational…

We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood—it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, “Too late.” There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. Omar Khayyam is right: “The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on.”

The time for impact mindfulness is not tomorrow…it is now.

This idea is not unrealistic and utopian. It is essential to the betterment of people and planet.