SURVIVING, THRIVING & GIVING
We have but one duty to ourselves and that is to evolve.
To ensure that we are taking care of self, in a way that ensures survival. Then to thrive.
And it is our spirit’s ‘meaning quest’ to know at which point one is able to overflow and assist another. For the true joy of life is having the ability to contribute and give the best of what we have to offer, away.
HOLDING BACK OUR GIFTS UNTIL WE KNOW IT’S SAFE
Until we know our survival is guaranteed though, we can hold back. Which in turn holds back our gifts. Ironically though, its the abundant overflow is necessary to ensure our survival and thriving as a species. Otherwise overly self-interested behavior can actually backfire as one seeks to be ultra-secure, one actually creates less security as the society around it gets more desperate for survival.
EXPANDING THE SENSE OF ‘I’ AND BUILDING A BIGGER NETWORK OF TRUST
True self interest expands into the larger context of “I” rapidly once the local survival and thriving is secure. And once it does, this fabric of trust can tie the whole community together into thriving.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SURVIVE
So what does it mean to survive? It means basics like food, water and shelter are in place. And that for the foreseeable future the basics are covered in order to operate, from a place of peace. There is a sense of things being taken care of so that one may fix their attention on something higher than basic survival. Until then, one is consumed with thoughts about how to secure it. And expends most of their energy to assure it.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO THRIVE
Once survival is assured, the thriving part really depends a lot on the values of the individual. Thriving first most humans is a surplus of what is needed no and into the future. Enough food is surviving, more food than one can eat is thriving. Enough shelter is surviving, more shelter than one actually needs is thriving. Enough water is surviving, more water than one actually needs is thriving.
SURVIVAL PROGRAMS IN OVER-DRIVE
For many the line between survival and thriving is blurred and the programs that insist survival is not yet assured go into over-drive to ensure needs will be met not only now, but into the foreseeable long term future, which means stockpiling resources and hoarding the abundance one has right now.
ACTING LIKE A SURVIVALIST – PAST THE POINT OF SURVIVAL
This crises in trust, in terms of relying on ones neighbor or tribe or community for meeting future needs by sharing today – is at the root of why the world still acts as though its in survival mode, even though by every measure, the world could be thriving.
BUILD GREATER TRUST WITHIN COMMUNITY
To shift into greater trust we need to be clear on when our survival is no longer a challenge and when indeed we are in the mode of thriving so we can share it. There must also be discernment about who we can trust to share with. There is sharing because we know we too will be taken care of in the future, a deposit of sorts, into the hands of competent team mates. And then there is the sharing once the community is thriving – for the greater social good and security.
START WITH OVERFLOWING TO THOSE YOU CAN TRUST IN THE FUTURE
It’s important to see the overflow as SELF – FAMILY – TEAM – COMMUNITY
As one begins to lean on a larger community, and overflows the abundance they are experiencing, a greater sense of trust will develop between all members of that community until ALL might be willing to share their abundance , which creates an even more secure future as one can rely on the community to support their needs even in less abundant times for the individual.
TRUST IS KNOWING YOU HAVE EACH OTHER’S BACK IN GOOD TIMES AND CHALLENGING TIMES
It’s this expanded circle of trust that creates an expanded sense of self.. I can trust myself in good times and bad. I know that I will look out for myself and have the ability to control what resources or inputs I give to myself. Trust requires that one go beyond what they directly to control, and trust that a brother or sister or member of the tribe will be there during their time in need, because THEY have been there during the time of their need.
MONEY AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR HUMAN INVESTMENT
This credit system of human deposits of energy, has now transferred into the money system or credit system. If we have money, we trust that we can draw from it at a later time. But if we don’t have it, there is a lack of trust in our ability to provide future value. You cannot go to the local store and get a loan for example. But a day is coming when even money won’t buy you what you need. And on that day, we will have to go back to relying on each other and rebuild those fabrics of trust.
TRUST NETWORKS ON A LOCAL SCALE
So this idea of trusting the local community at the very least is foreign to most local communities. It has been super ceded by this idea of a global currency that we can all trust on. This has replaced the networks of trust between individual humans and tribes and created one big global community depending on the trust and spend ability of the currency that they use .. and then abundance and thriving only comes when there is a surplus of that credit.. and because one usually never knows how much they might need, or just how far they can meet their needs within that kind of system.. the storing up and building up of financial wealth continues. And because status and power are also rewarded in their own way within this society, building up resources / money seems like the thing to do not only for survival but to meet esteem needs as well for validation / approval and significance.
Ultimately we want love but we hang onto money as a strong substitute as it can buy most things .. even adoration and affection which can feel like love. It can certainly buy sex and that’s tied to a very strong need.
Only when we are in need and experience true caring and compassion from someone that supports our needs. Not because they are paid to- but because they want to, do we experience a truer sense of love. It goes beyond a transaction and just feels like a quality human-to-human experience from the heart.
HOW CAN WE BECOME MORE ALIGNED WITH TRUE CARE FOR EACH OTHER AND THRIVE TOGETHER?
The question then is how can we become more aligned with each other where our circle of trust expands to the local community and our ability to trust each other grows so that we aren’t just reliant on a globally controlled and issued currency but that we actually care about one another and find that through care and less accounting, we actually can thrive together.