I have come to the gradual and unshakable conclusion after 50+ years of earthbound existence that something’s really amiss in our world.
I look around and see people practicing anything but impact mindfulness.
I see people pursuing a form of individualism that always puts self at the forefront. Sure, in the back of our minds, there is often a desire to contribute…generally manifested most efficiently with the weekly local church tithe, or a check stroked and sent to our favorite charity.
There…done…I feel better now.
I see people thinking almost exclusively in terms of the small us. I have been called a f***ing gringo enough times in my over a decade long experience of living in Latin American to know that small us thinking is not something that only affects the first world. It seems to be endemic to our species.
And the paradox is that it is also what threatens our very existence.
We confine ourselves to invisible borders and then go to war to defend them.
Why?
Because we believe that within those borders we have the greatest chance of advancing self-interest and we could give a damn about those outside of them, for the most part. They are there to be exploited for our benefit…the benefit of the small us.
I see impact blinders at work in practically every facet of human existence. More often than not, those blinders are the result of rigid adherence to some religious dogma. And we are willing to do some extremely destructive acts in pursuit of our chosen dogma.
Most often we didn’t choose our dogma at all…it chose us as a result of the particular circumstances into which we were borne.
Remember, 9-11 was at its core, a dogma based initiative.
And we “christians” are no better. The crusades were dogma based as well as other atrocities that we have inflicted upon ourselves in the name of something we can’t even prove to be real.
So I am writing a manifesto to express what I believe is the answer to our dilemma. You see what I don’t believe is that the answer lies in an ism, or a government program, or even in charitable acts. I believe it lies in a change of mindset. One that adopts and practices the three pillars of impact mindfulness.
Impact over interest…
A world in which people put impact over interest to me sounds like a very inviting place. A world in which we really do look out for one another. Christ himself spoke of such a world.
Even though I rail against religious dogma, I am a man of deep faith. I believe there has to be some universal intelligence that is holding all this together. And I believe to have faith in that is a key component of impact mindfulness. It is what will keep us firmly grounded on this great blue and green playing field that this universal intelligent force has fashioned for us to enjoy…
and protect.
I cannot conjure up a reason why good exists in our world that does not originate with this universal force. Good is not grounded in our DNA…self-interest is, survival is, but not good. And I see that proven in action day after day.
God = good = impact!
Or, God is real, good exists as a result of that fact and the way we manifest that in our concrete and see-able world is by our impact.
Embracing the Big US…
A new era has dawned. Seth Godin calls it the era of connectivity. We are connected across the vast expanse of planet like never before. And that connectivity is calling us to question the ideas that divide us.
It’s almost like the universe is giving us a chance to get things right.
Small us thinking has lead to big problems. We have exploited our planet to the point where our humanity is imminently threatened. This is consistently done to satisfy the insatiable materialistic desires of a few.
And we are more than willing to kill one another to maintain that capitalistic driven “right” to exploit.
I am really at a loss to understand why each of the strands of small us thought-trains suffer the illusion that they have it right and everyone else has it wrong. Where does this arrogance come from?
I believe it comes from a mindset that always puts the self…even the “group-self”…above everything and everyone else.
And if we continue to do that, we’re doomed.
But the good news is that the connection era has arrived and it gives the exploited a voice. It gives revolution a chance.
Connectivity has arrived as the platform for revolutionary misfits to emerge…and change the world!
We’re all counting on it to happen.
Embracing the Big US begins with connection and leads to compassion and cooperation.
And those are very good things for the ultimate survival of people and planet.
Removing Impact Blinders…
If impact is the ultimate good, then why don’t we prioritize it? Because for the most part we are blind, or blinded.
It really amazes me that most christians believe that their prime duty for impact is satisfied by the “tithe” to the local church…and once they have that part handled, god will reap untold benefits.
I know I heard that from the pulpit enough times for the concept to sink in.
But I am here to suggest that god doesn’t operate that way. God doesn’t want nor need your donated dollars dipped in dogma.
He wants your impact.
Dogmatic blinders certainly aren’t the only ones out there. Many of them are the result of cultural cultivation. You might have grown up learning to hate others who are different. To adopt the absurd belief that for some reason you are better than them.
No, not better, just different. For some reason we are often afraid of those differences. And that fear is manifested in hate…even violence.
But those differences are what make the human mosaic the grand masterpiece that it is. Life is so much more interesting because of them.
I believe that one of the most insidious impact blinders is this idea that individualism is key to actualization.
There is a concept in South Africa known as Ubuntu. It was embraced by Nelson Mandela and was the prime motivator for his legendary impact that liberated a nation.
Ubuntu tells us not that I think therefore I am, but that I am because we are. That what makes me who I am is the fact that I belong. None of us are islands to ourselves, even though we live a large chunk of our lives thinking and acting as if we were.
I know that I’m guilty of that.
When the truth is that we really do need each other. We really are interdependent. So why not stop fighting against that fortunate fact?
Removing impact blinders will lead to the realization that we really are all in this boat together.
The end in mind…
I am fond of this metaphor that places humanity on a vessel at peril. If you think about it sailors at sea are in the same predicament as the collective us. They can’t leave the ship…and neither can we, at least not yet.
And they are all in charge of keeping the ship in “ship-shape.” If not, things really get messy fast.
Things have gotten quite messy on our planetary ship. We haven’t done a very good job at “battening down the hatches” or “swabbing the decks.”
Come to thing of it, we sort of operate with a Titanic-like divisive mindset.
And we all know what happened to that ship!
It’s time we started getting the ship into shape. It’s time to stop focusing on self, on what divides us and in a way that clouds our vision of that bigger picture…it’s time for a new world order…
before it’s too late.
Impact mindfulness I believe is a simple way to express the key to doing our duty. The key for real and lasting change.
It starts with you…and me…
with revolutionary misfits.
image credit: kevin dooley via Compfight cc
