We Need a Spiritual Upgrade

What are we actually doing here?

What kind of world do we leave behind for our children?

A dying planet, dirty politics, conflict, inequality, and oppression. And those are just the shavings at the tip of the iceberg.

Make no mistake, we are absolutely killing it in the sphere of technological advancement. But can we really consider ourselves an advanced species when more than half of us don’t benefit from the scientific discoveries, education, and wealth that should be available to us all?

We are papering over the cracks of a morally decaying society. The fancy inventions and groundbreaking innovations we come up with are useless when the world around us is crumbling into depression, materialism, and grave injustice. So how do we fix it?

Here’s how I see it.

The Root of the Problem

“We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

At their core, society’s problems are spiritual in nature.

Regardless of who or what we believe in, most of us accept that there is more to us than our physical reality.

We have spiritual qualities, such as love, kindness, and justice, that are very much at the center of our existence. And just like science and technology, our capacity for and understanding of these qualities continue to grow.

What we currently see, is a world advancing materially by leaps and bounds, but leaving behind its spirituality. We may think our societal structures are founded on strong values, but for the most part, they are not. Our values and qualities need to be strengthened and reconceptualized.

Let’s take the quality of kindness, for example. It’s quite easy to be kind to your family. Give your dad a donut and boom, you’re kind. Take it one step further and give your neighbor some flowers on their birthday, and now you are expanding your kindness to your outer circle. Now magnify this to your entire village, your country, or even the entire world, and it looks very different. To practice kindness on a scale where you actually care about the whole world is some next-level stuff.

How do you do it? Just like everything else, you slowly build your capacity to be kind. Why would you want to be kind to everyone? Well, that’s how you build a better world. You want your job, your business or your passion to have a positive impact on the lives of the people around you. Doing everything in a spirit of service means you are building your capacity to be kind to the world.

So what happens if you don’t care? I’ll give my dad a donut but I couldn’t give a hoot about Jimmy who lives across the world. Well, that’s basically where we are now. Only thinking about yourself and your own best interest leads to what we have today. We have progressed so much scientifically but haven’t built a strong enough spiritual foundation to hold it up.

Corruption stems from greed, a lack of generosity.

War stems from ego and hate, a lack of humility, and love.

Poverty stems from oppression, a lack of justice.

The list goes on. So how do we fix this?

The solution

“The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds and through commendable and seemly conduct.” — Baha’u’llah

Yes, we are in a mess, but that doesn’t mean there is nothing we can do about it. There is no overnight quick-fix, but there is a starting point.

First, let’s acknowledge that the majority of the structures currently in place run deep into the core of society and therefore are almost impossible to change. There is no point trying to build new floors on a house with a weak foundation, and no point trying to patch up all the cracks in a house that’s falling apart. It all needs to come down at some point.

Secondly, new structures need to be built to replace the old ones. For instance, businesses need to be formed with care and service at their core, leaving no room for greed and exploitation. We need systems built on strong moral foundations to balance and make proper use of the material advancements we continue to make.

Based on the direction the world is going in right now, it looks like the current, failing systems will likely crumble in on themselves. Not much for us to do there, other than do our best to limit the damage caused by their ultimate implosion.

In the meantime, we can start by building our own spiritual capacities. All it takes is for us to make an effort each day. To be conscious of our actions. To think of others before ourselves. To be giving and to love.

Building these qualities in our kids is also really important. They are the hope of the future and the ones who will inherit the world we leave behind. They will be the educators, entrepreneurs, inventors, and leaders of the future. Who better to invest our time into? Strengthening their values is our only guarantee for the future.

This process will take time but it is necessary to have a truly prosperous society.

This pandemic has been a wakeup call for the world in many ways. It has thrown us all into the deep-end and exposed the frailties of our governments and economies. It has re-ignited underlying issues of racism, inequality, and entitlement and amplified the depression, anxiety, and stress of many.

At the same time, it has shown us how connected we all are; how all our actions affect each other. It has presented us with countless opportunities to show our love and care for those less fortunate. For many, it has slowed down this fast-paced world and been a door to reflection and the creation of deeper connections with loved ones.

The world we return to after this pandemic will surely be a different one. We don’t know what it will look like but we know we’ll have to build it back up again. Let’s do it right.