For the Pessimists

This blog is for all the pessimists in the world, who insist on spouting doom and gloom. Their stated view is that the world is getting worse, and that humanity is on a one way trip to extinction. From economic to spiritual catastrophe, from the environment to health, they have almost an infinite arsenal of concerns to bring them down and worry about. The glass is always half empty! As mentioned before in my blog, the news media revels in bringing to us the travesties of man and nature in all its minute details, but that is only because it sells!

I am an idealist, and my view is the exact opposite. We are living in the best times "ever" and are privileged to do so. Instead of complaining, moaning, and waiting for a savior or a guru, we should be celebrating the richness of our lives and the progress achieved so far AND more progress waiting for us around the corner. The possibilities are endless, and so is our capacity to reach them. A world (and life) of abundance awaits us, and our destiny (as individuals and as a race) is in our hands.

That does not mean that there are no problems, and that the path ahead is without immense hurdles. I am not saying that there is, and will be, no pain and suffering, no disasters or calamities. At the individual level we will continue to be subject to the whims and fancies of chance and our own flawed decisions. We will be required as a species and as a people to make tough calls, proverbially to choose between a rock and a hard place. We cannot and should not, absolve ourselves of our responsibilities to society and to future generations, by saying that someone somewhere will wave a magic wand and make the problems disappear. It will get increasingly difficult to just stand by and wait for others to clean up our mess. Nor will burying our heads in the sand, or blaming others, the fates, and blind destiny, hold much credence. 

However, on the big scale, at the Macro level, solutions are, and will be available to address and resolve the great concerns of those times. One is either an optimist or a pessimist on this subject, and I know that a lot of you are sitting on the fence. But I urge you to get off that fence and put your stake on one side or the other. And I would sincerely hope that you will be firmly utopian about our chances and our future. And if you are not, I would definitely like to understand how you intend to explain your views to your children and grand-children.

Anyway enough from me and my views. Click on the link below to get a breath of pure optimism.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_future.html