“Can I do it?” Versus “Should I do it?”

In 2001 I was attending a conference, where Dean Kamen was the keynote speaker. He pointed out, that up until recently the question for us humans was “Can we do it?”. Today, however, we are technologically so advanced, that we can do pretty much anything we put our heads to. In the Sixties, the question was “Can we put a man on the moon?” Today, we know we can. Today, the question is “Of all the millions of things we could spend our time, resources and energy to work on, what should we do?”
I think that this concept applies to me as a person as much as to us as humanity. There are so many professions I could choose, so many tasks I could occupy my time with. The question is not whether I am able do it, but whether it makes sense for me to do it.

I am a pretty good computer programmer. I used to get a lot of happiness and fulfillment out of completing some application, identifying and fixing an issue, figuring out how some process works and how it could be improved. After a while, though, that occupation lost its excitement. Today, I still like to program. However I do not treat it any longer as my life's purpose. When I listened to Dean in 2001, it crystallized for me that this is the question that would help me get ahead in my life: What is my purpose here? Just because I am able to do something, does not mean that I should.
Once I asked myself this question, the answers to my life's questions started to come. Once I looked at it that way, I soon realized, that my own comfort and survival is not good enough a purpose. It all led to where I am today: I see us humans, and myself in particular, as the tools the Universe uses to further this creation.
This new and different view-point is the core of my life-philosophy, my spiritual approach to life. It answered so many questions, helped finding understanding and acceptance, and facilitated my happiness and fulfillment...
Today, I am still programming – it is a great way to sustain myself materially, and it is beautiful and feels good to be creative and helpful on this level too. However, I understand now, that my coming to this world was to fulfill a different reason, not only to write and fix programs...

The concept, Dean explained in his speech, applies to other areas as well.

Here's an example: imagine, there is a person for whom money always was scarce. For that person the question always was, whether he can afford a particular product or service. Does he have enough money to pay for it? Then, one day, he wins a couple million dollars in the lottery. Suddenly, the question, whether he has the money, is no longer relevant.
You can see, if the only guideline that person has to help decide, whether to buy something or not, is whether there is money or not, that person will end up buying a lot of stuff, most of which he won't need. He most likely will go through his millions very quickly and, within a relatively short time, end up as poor as he was before.
Once he wins in the lottery, once scarcity changes to abundance, his guideline has to change. Now, the questions should be, does it make sense to buy this? Would it be better to buy something else? There is so much he could buy, but what, of all of that, should he really buy?

The change in his circumstances necessitated a change in his guiding question.

The same is true for our society, here in the developed countries. All the centuries leading up to today, humanity was living in scarcity. Very limited resources for food, shelter, and clothing; there was much more demand than supply for all of that. Today, however, we live in abundance. We can get pretty much anything we like, at any time, in pretty much any quantity. The circumstances have changed.
And so has the question, that we are supposed to ask ourselves. It is not anymore, whether we can afford something. The question now ought to be, whether it is appropriate to afford it? Or whether it is wise? Or the best course of action?
We drive huge SUVs because “I can afford the gas!” We are not mindful about what we use electricity for, because it is cheap and “I can afford it.”

Let's look at how we use electricity, for a moment: do you know, that any appliance in your house, that can be turned on and off with a remote, is using electricity even when it is turned off? It does. Somewhere between 5 to 15 Watts per hour! Hm. 300 million inhabitants in the US, assuming one such appliance per person at 10 Watts each, makes 3 billion Watt of electricity used for nothing but the comfort of being able to turn this thing off without getting up! BTW, the capacity of the Hoover dam, one of the US largest water power plants, is 2 billion Watts!
You see, we are asking the question: “Can we afford it?” Sure, it costs me a dollar or two a month to have those appliances work that way, I can afford that. The question we should be asking is: Should we use the electricity in that way? Isn't there anything better for which we could use this electricity, than that?

If you look at it that way, you can see, why this planet is in such a mess today! We continue to ask the wrong question. The issue of scarcity had put a lid on our ability to cause damage, Now that the circumstances have changed, now that there is abundance, we have to grow up and make good decisions out of our own motivation. That brings up a whole other topic: “responsibility”... but about that another time...

Let me close by summarizing the two points, that I wanted to ponder today:

• When the circumstances change, the guiding question needs to change too.
  
• Instead of “Can I do it?” it should be “Should I do it?”

How to achieve happiness

When I grew up, it was pretty clear to anybody – there was church and there was life. In church you behaved in one way, in life you behaved in another. But everybody denied that this is the case - which made it even more difficult for me as a child to understand the whole concept of spirituality – at least the kind of spirituality that was attempted to be conveyed in church.
Today, after many years of searching, I understand that in order to be a spiritual person, one does not have to have a multiple-personality tendency. Not at all!
Real spirituality is not about a different world, not even about life after death. It is about this life, our everyday life in this world. The traditionally purported schizophrenic separation occurred as a consequence of misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
I believe, that I as a humans am a temporary union of worldly matter (my body) with spirit (my soul). As such, I have to follow the rules of two systems: my body has to fulfill its tasks in order for me to survive. My soul has to fulfill its tasks, in order for me to feel happy.
Looking around I see so many folks trying to be happy by fulfilling their body's wishes. Good food can't make me happy, if I don't savor the moment of eating it. More good food doesn't make me more happy either. A simple potato with a little butter can make me happy, if I take my time to eat it, and be mindful about how delicious it tastes. Isn't it amazing, how this highly poisonous plant produces in its roots such a nutritious and tasty food for us humans...
A vacation to the islands doesn't make me happy. Only my attitude towards it can.
Only when body and soul are taken care of, I as a human can be healthy and happy!
One does not have to be spiritual at all, to be able to observe this fact. I think, though, once one does observe it, and accepts it, it is highly likely, that one might turn spiritual...
I find, it is important to come to a life-philosophy, that encompasses both my needs and wants as animal on this planet AND my soul's needs and wants. My body cares about survival and survival of the species. It couldn't care less about anything else. My soul, on the other hand, couldn't care less about survival, or survival of the species. It is my belief that my soul is concerned about the positive development of this creation.
If I deny my body what it is designed to do, it gets sick and starts doing crazy things: we've heard about priests abusing young boys. To me that is totally understandable! They have perfected the denial of their bodily functions; anytime a thought about a woman comes up it is immediately extinguished. Sooner or later, the body finds a way around the mental block. There is no big defense built up around young boys – and when suddenly the suppressed sexuality shows up in that corner, it comes with such force and so unexpected that there is no holding up the river anymore. I am not excusing that behavior – but explaining. To me, that whole scandal is one crystal clear example of how a mislead spirituality, built on misunderstandings and misinterpretations, can lead to a person going amok! Denying nature is a very dangerous, often disastrous behavior!
Think about it: a God creating a system and then expecting the elements of that system not to follow it? How schizophrenic is that? Only a human, ignorant and foolish, can come up with something crazy like that!
I belief a healthy spirituality is not denying nature, but providing a guidance. Neither is a good spirituality is about life after death. It is but about life! About life as human here on this planet! As human, which is animal and spirit at the same time! It is about how to work within the parameters of an animal toward the goal of the spirit!
I find my spirituality needs not make promises about later, but provide guidance that leads to happiness now.
Once I accept that happiness is not of my body, but of my soul, I can start listening to my soul and attempt to fulfill its needs – just like I always listen to my body and try to fulfill its needs. And once I follow the lead of my soul, miraculously and immediately, my happiness increases – no matter the circumstances of my life!
Still doubtful? Think about it! If happiness would come from material abundance, rich people would be happy and poor people would be unhappy. If it came from health and wellbeing, a terminally ill person, or a paraplegic person could never be happy, and all healthy persons would be happy. Really look around and try to see why happy people are happy. What made them happy? Look at yourself, your own life and experiences. When you had moments of happiness, what had caused that? What were the real, deep reasons behind your happiness? I guarantee you, it always was because your soul got what it was looking for!
So, if you want to be happy and healthy, here's my advice: give your body what it needs, and follow your soul where it leads!

Two easy steps to leaving a legacy

There are two special times, where I receive really good and clear ideas. Religious people might call these transmissions “God speaking”, but I just call it receiving great ideas, thoughts and insights. These two special times are: just before I fall asleep completely, and just before I wake up completely. It seems, these are the times, where I am conscious enough to actually remember things, but not yet so awake, that my rational thinking over-drones the subtle, quiet messages my soul is trying to convey to my brain. It seems, that this is the way the Universe is directly impacting me; at these times, when I am between being awake and asleep.
For a few days, I was thinking (again!) about the topic of “leaving a legacy”. What is a legacy? How can any simple, ordinary person, like myself, leave a legacy?
Obviously, something, whatever that is, has to be accomplished. But I am not a CEO of a large company, nor a popular politician, a clergy, a famous author, or anything else special, that would allow me to make an easily noticeable, big difference.
I believed strongly, that it does not require a special position to leave a legacy. I just wasn't able to put my finger on it, it hadn't crystallized yet to the point where I'd know how to go about it, where I could formulate a clear, actionable, easy to follow recipe. Still, I had the strong feeling that it is not a complicated matter, and it is possible for normal, everyday persons too.
And then, one evening, just before I completely dosed off, it dawned on me! There are two simple things to keep in mind:
To create a legacy, my actions have to cause some change. Secondly, that change has to be a positive change for the creation, not just for me, my family or my group.
If I look at any person who is still remembered for something good, this something always was something that was new and different, that presented a big change, a development. And it always impacted the creation as a whole. Sometimes, the person became famous, rich or powerful. Often, she/he didn't even benefit from it at all. But always – always – there was a benefit for the whole creation or the society at large!
Look at Vincent van Gogh. He was most likely mentally ill. Yet, he created some of the most beautiful paintings. Today, long after his death, his contributions to this creation are still delighting people all over the world, making their lives more beautiful. You may say he had a special talent. That's true. But life wasn't easy for him. He did not make millions. He received a lot of criticism and ridicule, and hardly any praise during his life-time. And he was suffering, at minimum from sever depression, most likely from something much more serious. If I look at myself, I do not suffer from a debilitating mental illness. It is relatively easy for me to navigate life. Sure, I don't have the talent to create beautiful paintings. But I do have other talents. I think, if I can just focus on my talents, and apply them to the best of my abilities and with a focus on causing positive change in the world, I might be able to have an impact too...
Look at Mother Theresa. She was a simple woman, nobody knew her or about her. She didn't look for what she can do to become famous. She found herself in a situation where she saw a need, and tried to use her talents and skills to ease the pain of the very poor people in Calcutta. Looking at myself again, I have a family to support. I can't go to a slum and try to support orphans. However, I am placed in many other situations – much less dramatic, but as much in need of being eased or solved or changed. If I decide to consciously look out for what the Universe might need to have done in those situations that I find myself in, I believe, I do have a good chance of providing a lot of help too, and of causing a lot of change.
The above are very famous people. There are millions of less famous people, who also left a great legacy. We all can leave a legacy, if we make this our focus, our life's purpose. You see, even if the names of some of these people are forgotten – their names are not really important. What really matters is their legacy itself. Do you know who found Penicillin? If you have a bacterial infection, it doesn't matter who found the antibiotic to help your body rid itself of the bacteria. What matters is, that somebody had found it.
If I can stop focusing on wanting to be famous, rich, powerful, comfortable... If I can stop focusing on myself, and instead start focusing on the world, the creation, I am convinced, that the likelihood of me leaving a legacy will increase dramatically, to the point, where it is not just a possibility, but a certainty!
It is so simple: Cause a change, focus on the creation...

New Approach Needed – Legal System

Our spirituality is what tells us Why we are doing what we are doing. Currently, our spirituality is focused mostly on our own individual benefit. We do what helps us survive, or survive better.
An new spirituality could help us grow beyond that. We could actually reach the point where we are starting to fulfill our role her in this world – our role of change-agents, our function as Tools of the Universe, through which the development of this creation is continued.
As a side-effect, following such a new spirituality will make our survival easier, more secure, and more enjoyable.
Here is an example of where the old approach is clearly not working, and a new approach needs to be applied: our legal system.
Our current system is based on revenge and personal satisfaction of victims. You do something bad, you get slapped. And the victim feels better because you got slapped.
Applying this system for all these years, and amplifying it with the typical American hunger for scandal and sensation, has lead us to a point, where the US has the most imprisoned person per capita in the whole world. That means, you take the number of person imprisoned in a country, and divide it by the number of citizens of that same country. If you compare those numbers, it is highest in the US. Higher than places like Irak, Iran, Russia, and any other place in this world!
Despite having locked up so many “bad” people, the US is still one of the least safe places to be in in the developed world. Hm. Something gotta be wrong here! Are we in the US more prone to be criminals? Well, I don't think so! I have lived in Europe, the US and the Caribbean, and I know, that people in all these places are nice people, all wanting the same things: be happy, live safe, have a job that pays living wages, raise our families, do good!
I think it is not the people! I think it is the system, that impacts people ending up in prison.
And there are two general areas, that have a big impact: First the education system – where people learn how to live together in a community, peacefully and productively. Secondly, the legal system – which sends people into prison.
I think, we need a fundamental shift in how we look at dealing with people that are acting inappropriate for the community they live in. Our current focus on punishment with the purpose to revenge, and locking up as one implementation of such punishment. We are trying to deter people by threatening with punishment. It is already understood for a long time, that this approach does not really deter a person from doing something, but rather just encourages them to be more careful not to be caught.
Think about yourself and the issue of speeding! Instead of not speeding, we install radar-detectors! Instead of not engaging in destructive behavior, we try to avoid being caught!
Instead, I think, we should look at the core of the problem. There is somebody, who does not understand that his/her action is hurtful to the community, that it does not increase the likelihood of their survival nor make their life easier or better, and who does not know how to apply their talents and skills in a positive way to make this world a better place.
Look at yourself again. When it is raining, you automatically drive a little slower. Why? Not because the ticket would be more expensive, but because you understand that it is more dangerous.
I know from my own experience, that once I understood – not just intellectually, but emotionally – that it is much safer, much less expensive, much less draining, and that I get to my destination not much later, if I drive at a slower speed, once I felt I am not missing out on something, if I am not speeding, it became real easy to go within the speed-limit.
My behavior did not change because of the pain of having to pay for speeding-tickets. It did not change because of the threat of further tickets. It changed because I understood, I learned, I grew.
I believe, that once a person really understands why to do something, and not to do some other thing, that person will do the right thing.
Whenever we make a decision – with or without really thinking about it – that decision is based on weighing off the positive and negative aspects, and the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones.
When somebody does something that is destructive, either that person did not have all the information necessary to make a better decision, or did not understand the situation.
The obvious conclusion from this realization is, that main goal of a legal system should be to help people mature to the point where they understand enough to make better decisions.
In Georgia there are signs along the highways, indicating that littering the highway can cost 1200$. That is a simple threat. The hope is, that it would deter people form littering. Anybody traveling along the highways in Georgia knows that this threat does not work – there is litter and trash all over the place.
Imagine, if the consequence of littering the highway was twofold: first, there is a training aspect, where the litter-bug learns about all the consequences of littering (the financial cost, the deterioration of the neighborhood, the environmental impact, and so on). Secondly, that person is spending a full day walking aside of the highway picking up trash. That would really allow the person to understand how much work it is to clean up the litter, and what kind of work it is – dirty and totally unnecessary.
I am sure, the problem of highway littering would be reduced dramatically. Anybody experiencing this consequence has a chance to really understand that is is a serious misbehavior to litter. Anybody seeing somebody working along the highway, in their reflective-suit with the big Litter-Bug emblem on their back, and becoming aware of the fact that they would end a day doing this – no matter what social or professional status or position they have - would be deterred at least as much as by the prospect of 1200$.
Again, the focus of the above suggested consequence is to help people learn and understand and mature to the point where they don't want to litter anymore.

Currently, we lock people up. When they come out, they are psychologically scared, trained by other misbehavers, and well-connected - they now have met many other offenders, which will make it much easier for them to continue down the wrong path. Also, since they now have a criminal record, most of the jobs are now not available for them anymore – any company wanting to do business with a governmental agency can not have any employees or contractors with a criminal record.
So, instead of having helped a person to find their way back to be a contributing member of the community, we basically solidified and enforced their status as destructive outsiders, as constant thorn in the communities side, endangering other members of the community, and making the lives of everybody less save, and more cumbersome!
You tell me, isn't it time for spiritual revolution in our legal system?