We are drenched in a sea of detail. Opinions on those details drown us daily from every direction. Cohorts form for various points of view. They work to address a detail or two. A problem here, a problem there.
During this period emotions build, and tongues loosen. Soon a blame game appears. The details multiply. They get confused with facts. Clouds of misinformation soon follow. Public discourse becomes vitriolic melee.
No one gets anything good from this. The problems remain. Definitions of problems are not even attempted, just the anger. The mob heats up. Actions spill over and nothing gets done about the very things they are upset with.
This is how details get in the way of understanding the big picture.
What do we really think should be the outcomes of our living together on this planet? What should we all strive toward? Can we at least agree on that? or will we perpetually look for blame and scapegoats?
The big picture gets lost in all this confusion. It happens without our realizing it.
To get back to a more helpful stance, I suggest we list problems and then prioritize them. Which are the more important ones? Choose three of them. Then envision what outcome you would rather want for each of those three problems. If we were successfully managing them, what outcomes would be readily available?
If we can agree on the outcomes, all that’s left is figuring out what to do about making it happen.
That is not impossible. We can figure out solutions to common problems, even huge ones. But first we have to choose which few to work on at the same time. Leave the rest of the listed problems for later. Choose the building block issues that, when solved, provide sustainable resources to solve the other issues. Do this over time in priority order.
Eventually the entire list will be handled. With the larger issues behind us, we may even find some of the later problems not problems at all. They may have even disappeared. Imagine that!
Each generation handles their own lives. They learn, experience, and adapt. They invent their own. They thrive and survive. This is the way of life in the real world since the dawn of time. It is no different now than it was back then.
As older generations fade from view, younger generations live their struggle. This develops their survival skills, their inventiveness. It is not handed to them. They have to do this for themselves.
Each generation feels the previous generation doesn’t hear them, see them, or understand them. Bosh! That is part of the process. Generations understand each other pretty well, but then, they don’t have to forever. It is the way of the world and will remain so.
An important consideration is to allow each generation to be themselves. Just let them be. It will work out in the end.
April 16, 2020
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