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Paradigm = “a philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind”
Shift = “to exchange for or replace by another”
We live our lives is a paradigm, a view of reality that we have fashioned
for ourselves based on personal experience and what has become commonly
accepted by society. A shift in our paradigm occurs when the introduction of
new information causes us to leave behind the old model of “the way things
are” and step into a new one. These shifts may be subtle in nature, as when
we one day realize we are no longer children but have become adults. At
other times they can be quite dramatic as in the birth of a child or the
death of someone we love. Our lives are a series of paradigm shifts as new
occurrences, facts and insights force us to re-examine long-cherished
suppositions and opinions and abandon them as a new paradigm replaces the
old one. By the time we reach our senior years, we have been through so many
of these shifts that only thing we can be certain of is uncertainty.
Humanity as a whole has gone through paradigm shifts as well. History
demonstrates how, politically, we have moved from having governments
controlled by kings, emperors and noble families to governments of elected
officials who are ultimately answerable to the people they govern. Science
has progressed from a view of a simple and static universe composed of only
four elements to a complex and dynamic one with over one hundred and
eighteen, full of such strange objects as black holes, dark energy and
anti-matter. Religions have undergone paradigm shifts as well as changing
landscape beneath their feet has forced them to assimilate new information
and attitudes or become antiquated and reactionary.
The conflict between these three forces in human history, politics,
religion and science, has resulted in wars, misery and deep animosity the
effects of which we feel today. Battles between despotic dictators and
freedom fighters rage around the world. Fundamentalists and progressives war
for the spiritual high ground. Evolutionists and creationists are firmly set
in their camps, throwing stones of accusation and rebuttal at each other.
The rest of us are caught in the middle of these wars for our hearts and
minds, innocent victims or unwitting accomplices. This is the bitter harvest
of Certainty.
But there is another way, a way that breaks down walls and divisions, that
opens hearts and minds and frees the human spirit from the prison of old
points of view which allow no disagreement. It is time for another paradigm
shift, one we stand on the threshold of at this moment. We can either step
boldly across or allow ourselves to be consumed by the hatred that threatens
to plunge us into a dark age such as the world has never before seen. The
crisis point is here, it can be avoided no longer. The sheer number of human
beings in the world is increasing exponentially, placing strains on our
resources that will soon be unbearable. Politics, religion and science, by
themselves, cannot provide an adequate answer to a world screaming for
freedom, security and basic human rights. Only a global paradigm shift, a
collective change of perspective, will prevent the looming catastrophe.
How can this be done? How, in a world as diverse, as fragmented as ours, can
such a seeming miracle occur?
It happens one person, one heart and one mind, at a time. It begins with
a personal paradigm shift, a releasing of intractable views and
narrow-minded attitudes, the discovery of a reality that allows for any
possibility, the embracing of Uncertainty. It begins with the respect, even
celebration, of diversity of thought, opinion, culture, and lifestyle. It
begins with an insight into the miracle that is our life, the blood we all
share, the love that aches to be released from our hearts and given. It
begins with the laying down of arms and the cessation of hate. It begins
with the realization that we have hands and hearts and minds to be of
service to one another. It begins with you.
Change happens in our world because it happens first within us. Free
yourself and you will be an example for others to follow. Abandon certainty
and a universe of possibilities will open up around you. Soon, like a
growing wave, this change will multiply and touch every corner of our world.
Instead of a dark age of fear and hate, a renaissance of the human spirit
will allow politics, religion and science to become what they were meant to
be; tools for the benefit of all humanity. |
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