My aim is to send a New Year’s message of hope for peace, prosperity and happiness for all. But first I must consider the current reality. Whilst material prosperity, at least, is enjoyed by most of us in the rich countries such as the UK, for the majority of humanity, 2025 will, once again, be a struggle for survival. In the global south many will face hunger, displacement and war, whilst in the West our much maligned public services will be buckling under the weight of a tsunami of ill health, growing poverty and violence.
If we turn to politics we are more likely to find some of the causes rather than the answers to these problems. The obliteration of socialism followed by forty years of neoliberalism has left the door wide open for the reemergence of fascism, under the guise of populism. The masses are now hungry for change and, in the absence of any alternative, are being seduced by the rhetoric of tribalism and hate.
Meanwhile the delicate balance of the ecosystems that sustain life on this planet are being so severely disrupted that many species have already perished and, on the current trajectory it seems inevitable that a large proportion of the species ‘homo sapiens’ will follow them.
So how did it come this? I subscribe to the theory that many of our problems arose with the birth of agriculture and the transition from societies which saw themselves as part of a natural world in which every element is sacred, to Dominator societies which set themselves apart from a natural world that can be manipulated and exploited to suit their ends. We have gone forth and multiplied and attained dominion over the earth as the Bible instructed and in doing so we have become the only species stupid enough to destroy its only habitat.
Moreover, we have locked ourselves into a global economic system which relies upon ever increasing exploitation and manipulation of the earth’s resources, including many of its people, in order to survive. We are heading for the edge of the cliff with a driver called Insanity pressing the accelerator to the floor. But there is hope. On a finite planet capitalism must eventually collapse under its own weight. Perhaps we will still have time to replace it with a system that allows both nature and humanity to thrive.
The question, then, is: how can we create a more viable post-capitalist future? Can we emerge from 11,000 years of madness with something better? Can the urge to dominate, manipulate and exploit which has been ingrained into our collective psyche be overcome? I believe it can.
Furthermore, the road to sanity might not be as long and winding as we imagine. I believe it may just depend on our capacity to truly comprehend and embrace the following simple truth which is a central concept of Buddhist and other Eastern philosophies: once our basic needs (water, food and shelter) have been met, the causes of all our suffering are attachments and aversions. It follows that the path to happiness lies in freeing ourselves from those attachments and aversions).
To look at this from another perspective; we have been searching for happiness in the last 11,000 years, in all the wrong places. We spend our lives in the pursuit of pleasures, possessions, wealth, status, power, security, romance, etc. believing they will bring us happiness when in fact this neediness is the cause of our unhappiness. In modern societies these pursuits are so actively encouraged and such a fundamental part of our cultures that to many people this would seem like turning their whole lives upside down. But if we make the effort to examine it more closely and test it out for ourselves, its truth becomes self evident. If each time we begin to feel unhappy about something we consider why that is, we will recognise that a particular set of circumstances are not as we desire them to be. If we weren’t attached to the idea of a different set of circumstances we wouldn’t be upset.
Obviously, it requires great levels of introspection to recognise and free ourselves from all of our attachments and aversions. Meditation is the tool which Buddhists recommend to help us achieve this, but even with a dedicated meditation practice it can take years, even lifetimes, not least because many of our attachments and aversions are subtle and deeply etched into our personalities. I have come to realise in recent years, for example, that fear is a very prevalent aversion in modern day lives, despite the fact that we are probably safer than at any time in history. A particularly strong fear of mine is the fear of being thought of badly- of not being loved. Although I have become much more aware of it, I still can’t claim to have fully freed myself from its shackles.
However, I am not suggesting that we all need to become Buddhists or to attain enlightenment in order to save ourselves, merely that we need to embark upon the journey towards sanity. In shedding our attachments and aversions, little by little, we will become more proficient at living lightly on the Earth; less likely likely to exploit resources and other living beings to meet our perceived needs. We will realise that we don’t need to own expensive clothes, cars or second homes, to travel to far flung places or to cage and slaughter animals to be happy. In fact, we are more likely to find contentment in living simply and reconnecting with our natural surroundings.
Moreover, as we become more free and less needy we will experience a whole host of other benefits such as having more time and energy to help others, which can be one of the greatest sources of happiness. Imagine what a wonderful world we could create if everyone devoted their lives to fulfilling their potential to contribute to the collective well-being (as I believe the aborigines did). We could follow the example of Bhutan; the most sustainable country in the world where success is measured not with GDP but with Gross National Happiness.
So here’s wishing everyone a Peaceful (simple and serene), Prosperous (abundant energy and well-being) and Happy (contented and grateful) 2025!!!