Creating Utopia

'What are we to think at a time like this? What do we believe? What are we holding the space for?' This is what I asked at the start of the pandemic.

The world was gripped by fear at the time. It was hard to tell truth from fiction. Future projections were dystopian and grim. Conspiracy theory abounded. People revolted, protested, clashed with the powers that be. War raged. Authority unleashed its power, shrinking the proletariat, imposing its will, deflating democracy, widening the gap between the haves and the have nots. Reality became distorted, split into many lurid versions of itself. We peered through a dark glass grimly, holding the space for the light.

And like the opening of Pandora's box, the resonance of those years has lured monsters and hallucinations to walk amongst us. Draped in the finest of silks, they scatter golden coins from their chariots of illusion, their cloaks covered in mirrors of distortion, their magic wands tracing arcs of fear. They are flanked by rows of magnificent sirens in governmental blazers singing songs of seduction in mellifluous voices. Their mansions of logic line the sidewalks astride verdant lawns that conceal the abyss below, where the hell realms rip the heads off little children on the playground.

George Orwell's 1984 is much cited at this time. He wrote about a world of surveillance and censorship, where information was controlled by big brother, and control came through pain.

Years before Orwell however, Aldous Huxley wrote 'A Brave new world'. A world in which people would love their own control, and the control would come through pleasure. There would be so much information that people would drown in trivia, unable to see, unmotivated to look for the truth.

'Whereas Orwell feared the truth would be hidden, Huxley feared the truth would become irrelevant, hidden beneath an avalanche of distraction. No one had to ban a single book, they just needed to make sure you never opened one anyway.' Travis Mayo.

So I ask you today to consider distraction and attention. Have you become so distracted that you do not seek the truth? Is your attention on what will help grow the light? Are you actively helping to create a better future for the world? Do you seek the things that make your heart sing?

Do not become complacent or confused. Do not believe the illusions, the hallucinations, the sirens. Do not believe you are powerless, that 'you will be left behind', that one person's views or actions do not matter. Trust your intuition. Trust that goodness will always prevail.

Because there is hope. There is light. There is the possibility of a new Utopia as people move towards a more natural, human, and humane way of being. There is an ever growing rejection not only of AI and its ecologically destructive data centres, but of technology itself.

People are rising up around the world to protect the environment, the vulnerable, the creatures and people of the earth. There is a real move towards analog, as the latest generation of children ask for flip phones, vinyl and vintage cameras. The 'dumbphone' market is expected to reach $10.6 billion globally as humans seek an escape from screen time and the anxiety and time consumption it creates. We see the most recent ivy league graduates booing technophiles off the stage as they reject the robotic futures being projected and proposed.

No, the future has not been written, and it is neither inevitable nor dystopian. In the end, the few have never, and will never dominate the many. No matter how it seems to look at the start.

Consider and reflect on the difference one single person can make in the world. It is always, one single person that creates massive change for the better or for the worse. One solitary person who says no, who will not be cowed, who refuses to follow mass consensus, who stands up to be counted and to turn the tide.

Goodness is spreading and growing if you know where to look. Amazing scientific discoveries to relieve suffering, clean energy, regeneration of forests, coral reefs and rivers, resurgence of species that were extinct. People doing so much good. You need to focus on that.

It is time to awaken. Time to put attention on the right things. Focus on the good, on life affirming, positive, magical wonder. The world is a beautiful place, filled with extraordinary people. Peace and goodness will prevail!

Today I ask again, 'What will you choose to think at a time like this? What will you believe? What are you holding the space for?'

'The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep. People move back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds meet. The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep' Rumi.

Photo credit : Nealsmithphotos - Thank you!

Writing : Kiki Theo - 100% human - zero AI always!