Good News: Moving Toward Grace
Although headlines might suggest otherwise, the world is becoming a more graceful place. This sounds radical and contrary to bumper sitcker wisdom that says "If you're not appalled, then you haven't been paying attention." On a superficial level, this may be true. However, the more closely you pay attention to the unfolding process of life, the more you realize that "If you are not enthralled, then you haven't been paying attention."
- Increasing Awareness
- Improving Health
- Increasing Peace
- Increasing Care for Environment
- Increasing Justice
- Increasing Chances for Survival
- Increasing Charity
- Improved Treatment of Animals
When seen from the perspective of millions of years, we can see that the universe moves toward grace. There is eveidence for greater complexity, greater cooperation, greater consciousness and even greater compassion. In the past 2000 years, the blink of an eye in geologic time, humans continue to move toward improving health, decreasing violence, increasing awareness, ever widening circles of compassion for others, increasingly humane treatment of animals, and increasing ability to solve problems.
My point is not to diminish some of the serious problems threatening humanity and other species. It is rather to show how when we align with the powers that create nature and of evolution, we can overcome these problems. And the great news is that now we have better tools to deal with some of these problems. A growing awareness of problems will lead to their solutions.
Increasing Awareness
Awareness is the beginning of wisdom. Humanity is becoming ever more aware of blessings, of potential problems and of their solutions. This list of "Good News" is meant to be a reminder of the growing numbers of blessings in our lives.
Awareness of blessings gives us the hope and courage to survive and thrive.
- Science magnifies our ability to see the universe, from tiny atoms to the universe as a whole.
- The Internet is increasing people’s awareness of all kinds of problems and their solutions.
- Computer modeling, now used to evermore accurately predict the weather, will be used to help solve crushing poverty and to track and end infectious disease.
- Improvements in education.
- The percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college remained relatively stable (37 percent in 1997 and 39 percent in 2007 (Fast Facts)
- Increasing spirituality
- Millions, inside and outside of religion, are deepening their inner awareness through new and improved spiritual practices.
- The bestselling book, "A New Earth" is awakening millions of readers to our interdependence.
- The hit movie "The Secret" awakens millions to the idea that where attention goes, energy flows and that your thoughts create your reality.
- Knowledge of Internal Guidance System: published in 2010. Smart Soul Academy
A paradoxical blessing is our ability to be aware of problems. At first, awareness of a problem is distressing. Yet, like the heat of a fire, it's better to feel the heat and move away than to be unaware and get burned. While this growing awareness at first feels painful, it leads to action that relieves the cause of the pain. The good news is that our awareness of problems grows exponentially and along with this, the power to solve problems.
Improving Health
While headlines pronounce the decline of world health, statistics show that more humans than ever before are living longer and healthier lives. While the old problems are joined by many new problems, such as growing levels of obesity related diseases, growth of antibiotic resistant strains of microbes, and increased rates of cancer, overall, the picture is getting better.
- Infant mortality rate going down, most parts of world.
- Maternal Deaths decline worldwide - from 526,300 in 1980 to about 342,900 in 2008.
- Life expectancy going up, in most parts of world
- Infectious disease is no longer the #1 killer in developed nations.
- World attention now focused on eliminating infectious disease.
Increasing Peace
Violent Conflict Decreasing
- The Human Security Report "documents a dramatic, but largely unknown, decline in the number of wars, genocides and human rights abuse over the past decade."
- "In a world where war, terrorism and humanitarian crises can seem all-pervasive, the Human Security Report offers a rare message of hope." ~ Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- A Less Violent World - Graphic showning decreasing conflict
- "Over the past 30 years the collapse of some 60 dictatorships has freed countless millions of people from re- pressive rule. The number of democracies has soared, interstate wars have become increasingly rare, and all wars have become less deadly."
- Peace on Earth? Increasingly, Yes. Political violence has declined since the end of the Cold War. By Andrew Mack, The Washington Post 1-1-06.
Care For Environment
- Concern for environment considered moral by growing number of people.
- Cuyahoga River no longer flammable
- While extinction rates remain high, some species removed from the Endangered Species List: the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, and the gray wolf,
Increasing Justice
"Freedom in the World" by Freedom House 1973 - 2008 (2009 Edition)Graph indicates percentage of Not Free, Partly Free and Free countries.
- Countries with democracies on increase
- While many individuals are still enslaved, slavery no longer condoned by any country.
- Women vote in most countries. Lydia Chapin Taft became the first recorded legal woman voter in America on October 30, 1756. Since then, women have increasingly won the right to vote and only Saudia Arabia, Vatican City and Brunei do not allow women to vote. (Brunei allows neither women nor men to vote.) (Wikipedia, Nov. 2009)
- Homosexuality is out of the closet and celebrated in increasing number of places.
Increasing Chances for Survival
- Predicting Vocanic Eruptions - The 1989 eruption of Mt. Redoubt was the first volcanic eruption to be successfully predicted by the method of long-period seismic events developed by Swiss/American volcanologist Bernard Chouet.[1]
- Asteroid Deflection Strategies - Scientists at B612, NASA and other organizations have several strategies to deflect an incoming asteroid like the one that contributed to dinosaur extinction.
Increasing Charity
- US gives over $250 billion to charity
- $3.12 billion = hurricane relief
- $1.78 billion = tsunami relief – more than ever to overseas (Time 12-26-05)
- US Government - Antiretroviral drugs for 400,000 Africans, $15 billion/5 years
- European Gov’t – Immunizations over 10 years for $10 billion
- Bill and Melinda Gates giving $29 billion endowment - “When the history of global health is written, the tipping point will be Bill and Melinda Gates.” ~ Dr. William Foege, former head of CDC.
- Saved 700,000 lives through vaccinations (Time 1-26-05)
- Spends almost as much as WHO
- Most important global health organization in the world
- Internet access to 11,000 libraries
- 9048 scholarships to high-achieving minorities
- Ted Turner began billion dollar philanthropy with $1 billion gift to UN
- Philanthropy is new, hip style
- Bono Effect - Celebrity leverage of giving
- $80 billion to poor nations
- Live Aid Concert
- Oprah's "Big Give"
Humane Treatment of Animals
- Growing concern for animal survival and welfare
- Cosmetic and health testing using animals decreasing
- Vegetarians increasing (1 billion + in India)
- Internaltiona Whaling Moratorium has increased whale numbers
- Growing awareness for plight of tigers
- 6400 by 2021
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1. Chouet, Bernard (1996-03-28). "Long-period volcano seismicity: its sources and use in eruption forecasting". Nature 380 (6572): 309–316. doi:10.1038/380309a0.
