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Bill Miller's avatar

Hey Suzanne — thanks for keeping at it with this theme! I don’t have an immediate path forward (so keep your 100 bucks and let it accrue some interest), but in a paraphrase of an Albert Einstein sentiment, half the solution may lie in asking the right question.

Here’s my current question: what will people do, what will occupy their time, what will be the daily purpose of life in that future society that “our hearts know is possible”?

For millennia, life was primarily about locating the resources needed for surviving the day. Now that the modern world has made that far more easy, we have to occupy people by having them do “jobs” — half of which are not really needed. Moreover, half of the jobs largely exist to mitigate the harm caused by the other half.

If we were doing things “right”, a great deal of this activity would not be needed. How then are these people to spend their time? (Frankly, if I had to spend more than a few weeks on a riverbank, writing poetry, strumming a guitar, and gazing at clouds, I’d probably end up blowing my brains out.)

What is the worthy endeavor that humanity will primarily be engaged with? I suppose in the initial term, simply ensuring that all of the planet’s residents have reasonable access to food, clothing, shelter, security, healthcare, education, and opportunity would be a couple decades task. What then? Probably not a Mars colony, but what?

... in the meantime, Happy Birthday!

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Diana van Eyk's avatar

I love your inspiring words, Suzanne. I think we all yearn for the oneness you describe.

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