I find it a little scary to ponder where the world is heading. What you believe is what you see, and if we believe the world is heading into a scary place, then we're likely right. BUT at the same time, let's believe that future is changing in a positive direction because we are doing various things to prevent a potential disaster. I DO feel more of us are helping the planet (and mankind) to be healthier, cleaner (less pollution) and in a wonderful place of abundance AND that we're all helping more and more and at a rapidly increasing rate.
Things I ponder, about where the world is heading, as I make decisions;
- Climate Refugees - I feel like the current "wave" of refugees is just the tip of the iceberg. We're going to have more and more refugees, and from climate-related issues in addition to all the current issues. The time to prep for that is NOW. We have the opportunity, the window is open, and we should take advantage of this time we do have. I live in New England, and while we had been seeing quite the exodus of people prior to Covid, lately we've had a lot of people moving here to get away from the concentration of city living and the prices are increasing significantly. It makes affordable housing harder to find. How do we shift that and prevent creating our own refugees of people that can't find housing? And when the climate refugees are racially diverse, how do we welcome them and embrace them in a country that is racist?
- Racism, discrimination, pollution - How do we solve the world's problems? How do we make people understand why solving them is important?
- Food - Better systems around food are SO needed. The waste of it is appalling. Have you heard of "dumpster diving?" it's just that - going into dumpsters to find food. LOTS of food is tossed because it's not perfect, and while it's still totally eatable. More towns are seeing this and shifting, which is great. But we also need to grow more and figure out how to distribute it better. We need a lower-environmental impact than our current transportation and higher & cheaper availability where there are food shortages
- Charities - I LOVE that there are so may entities taking care of people and the planet and their needs! At the same time, we need a fast way to identify that they are legit as not everyone will take the time to research, and will pass on giving to a charity with which they are unfamiliar in order to avoid a potential scam. What if there was one body that has info on all non-profits, and there was a link on every organization's site to that very body and their review of the non-profit? Something like that.
- Advocacy - I'd like to see more people communicate their desires with their government representatives. Many vote them in and let go. There's an opportunity here to shift what reps do when their actions are easy to track. People need to know how to see their reps' votes quickly and easily, and hold their reps accountable.
The world is changing, yet still has a long way to go. The more we do to help, the closer we are do...well...Utopia. And isn't that the goal?
PS - Shout out to my Mom, Grace Gallaway, who painted this picture. It looks like the world we all want - gorgeous, green, and idyllic.