My Wish List for The World

The ten days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is a time of introspection and reflection. The primary focus of this reflection tends to be our own lives: accomplishments, disappointments, regrets, remorse, aligning with our life’s purpose.

DoYou10Q.com is project that aims to facilitate this introspection by sending you one question each day from Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur. The questions are not specific to Judaism; they are similar to questions I use in my quarterly and year-end reviews.

As we contemplate our vision for how we will contribute to the world, it’s also important to consider our vision for the world itself, which is what today’s question addressed.

As society reopens and you reemerge, how would you like to see society shifting in the coming months? Or would you like it simply to go back to the way it was pre-COVID–19 pandemic?

I most certainly do not want to go back to how things were pre-COVID. And it’s not even possible anyway.

In fact, I wish society would finally come to understand that there is no “going back.” The whole concept of “going back” or “making America great again” is a faulty construct that flies in the face of nature. Nature only moves forward.

I would like to see society recognize that we cannot fight the nature of nature, we can only learn to adapt to it.

Thinking about what I’d like this world to look like is so depressing.

It all seems so hopeless.

It took me some time of sitting in stillness to reconnect and come home to my heart and what I would like to see.

Once my heart connected, my fingers began to move on the keyboard. Ok, more accurately it was thumbs on my iPhone screen, but the impact is the same. Energetically, the hands are an extension of the heart. When the heart opens and words flow, the fingers start moving.

So far I’ve kept my responses to the questions private. But this one felt worth sharing.

The Changes I’d Like to See

I’d like to see society be kinder and less judgmental. Where compassion and understanding are the first instincts. A society where people take time to pause before responding or acting, where quality is more important than quantity or speed. I’d like to see a society where the value of each person is recognized. Where we give people the benefit of the doubt for their motives and actions rather than rushing to judgment.

I’d like to see a society where presence is valued; where how you show up matters at least as much, if not more, than what you ship.

I’d like to see a society that values rest and stillness as much as action, emotion and intuition as much as intellect.

I’d like to see a society less focused on the surface image more focused on what lies in the depths; less preoccupied with the instant results and more patient for what grows in the soil of time.

I’d like to see a society where we create policy with compassion for all, instead of concerns only for people like us.

I’d like to see a society where what we look for and see first is our sameness rather than our differences.

I’d like to see a society with healthcare policies that recognize that the mind, body, emotions, and sprint are not separate entities, and must be treated together; where quality healthcare is not tied to a job or dependent on how much you can afford to spend.

I’d like to see a society that shifts its conversation from “healthcare,” which is really sick-care, to wellness; where the search for the cause is valued at least as much, if not more, than the search for the cure.

I’d like to see a society that doesn’t label people by their roles in the workplace, their job titles, their political affiliations, their race, religion, or any other group identifier. A society that created awareness of the fact that any overarching group — men, women, Democrats, Republicans, etc — is comprised of individual human beings who don’t have uniformity of thoughts or opinions.

I’d like to see society shift from addiction to outrage to addiction to compassion, from busy to benevolent, from fear to forgiveness.

I’d like to see society shift its mindset from life as a zero sum game to an understanding that a win for one is a win for all.

I’d like to see a society where equality is understood as equality and not “I advance at your expense.”

I’d like to see a society that values its front-line workers by showing reverence for them the way we do for celebrities and athletes and Wall Street CEOs, and that compensates them in a manner commensurate with their contribution.

I’d like to see a society that values the education of its children for the purpose of life, not just for tests. One where we teach children the essential skills of self-worth, confidence, and resilience.

I’d like to see a society that relishes the sanctity of sacred space more than the sport of schadenfreude.

I’d like to see a society where people advocates for each other rather than antagonize the “other.”

Advocating For Our Awakening

I often feel like my hopes for society are so unrealistic in this divided nation, where conspiracy theories are treated as prima-facie true and news outlets are allowed to promulgate lies and misinformation. In a nation where people on both sides of the aisle diminish quality of the discourse, and yet incumbents continue to be re-elected, I wonder why I even bother having a dream of what society can be.

But if we don’t dream of what could be, how will we ever hope to arrive closer to it?

The gap between where we are and where we could be feels large, but it may be closer than we think.

It largely turns on one question: are enough of us willing to advocate for our collective awakening?

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What changes would you like to see?