A Sustainable Future Requires Great Compassion

According to the Writer’s Almanac: It’s the birthday of Carl Jung (pictured), born in 1875. He was the founder of analytic psychology. He noticed that myths and fairytales from all kinds of different cultures have certain similarities. He called these similarities archetypes, and he believed that archetypes come from a collective unconscious that all humans share.

The concept that we are all connected to one another in some profound yet mysterious way has taken on a huge following in the last few decades, driven not only by philosophers, but by scientists as well. Though we are a very long way from understanding human consciousness, it’s starting to appear as if there may be some strange connection to quantum physics.  At a minimum, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle tells us that the observer and the observed are not two distinct things.

Unfortunately, it seems likely that no one reading this post will live to see the day in which all this becomes fully understood.  For now, we need to content ourselves with the knowledge that, beneath our surface level differences, there is a profound similarity to everyone living on this planet; what we share in common is far greater than, for instance, the religion that we took on at our mother’s knee. We all are born with the capacity to feel love, joy, pain and sorrow; we all possess the ability to use our minds to ponder great concepts and solve intricate problems.

It also seems likely that this recognition of the incredible commonality will be required if human organized civilization is to survive on this planet.  Creating a sustainable way of life and getting past the huge existential threats, e.g., environmental collapse, cannot happen if we are unable to recognize this kinship, and to care for one another.

If there is a designer of the universe, perhaps He’s offering this as a test.  Maybe He’s telling us, “If you enjoy life on this beautiful planet I’ve made for you and want a sustainable future on its surface, you’re going to have to show a deep compassion for one another.  If you can’t do that, you’re going to richly deserve the fate, whether it’s a bang or a whimper, that is so obviously headed your way.”