Post; hit publish; share. To share is to leave a record, a residue of our having existed. It's modern cave painting.
Contemplation is invisible, time consuming and hard. To understand and not share is to question whether the contemplation happened. I think therefore I am is a terrible way to grow a following!
But contemplation and deep thought is a requirement for substantive points of view. Randomly published thoughts have about as much chance of hitting the mark as progressing by mashing the buttons on a video game controller; or aimlessly firing arrows at the bullseye. Steady and center the body, mind and breath before you fire. True and good thoughts are like bread - they take time to rise.
But it’s worth it. In fact it’s required.
There are several reasons for this.
- Situations are more complex and interconnected than ever.
- Information is ever more ubiquitous. Separating fact from misinformation is becoming hard- and it’ll only get worse.
- Trust in institutions is vanishing.
We are losing (arguably have lost) the thread of a coherent narrative connecting society. This has been replaced by a shift towards valuing people’s “own truths”. Too many cars on a road without rules or guardrails will lead to crashes.
So it’s important to develop a grounded perspective on situations. Consider this my public service announcement - and reminder to myself too!
How might we get a bit smarter about what we put out there?
When in doubt go long, go deep. Here’s a few starting points.
- Study history to understand context. If situations have persisted for a long time unresolved (e.g., Israel/Palestine) it's worth asking why smart people have failed. If your answer is simple that should be a red flag that you're missing something foundational.
- Speak to people enmeshed in the situation to gain empathy
- Review the data to reach your own conclusions
Whatever your truth please know it carries with it the power to influence - both today and in the future. Take that influence seriously enough to be a force for moving this human experiment to a better place.
Cave paintings depicted truths about time and place, coherent to future civilizations. In comparison we use magic to communicate. Let's raise the bar on the content we communicate.