A common theme in our newsletters is life-enhancement. How can one improve any area of life, make it better, cleaner, more natural, healthier, happier?
This theme is a reflection of our life philosophy – and this philosophy is based on a very definite standard of value.
A standard is a yardstick by which something can be measured. A value is that which one holds to be good or right, something for which one will reach or will seek to uphold.
A standard of value is a measure by which to judge the degree of rightness or goodness of a thing or an action.
Holding a workable and appropriate standard of value is the key to survival and improvement for any individual and for any group.
This exact point explains why our world is in such trouble. There are many individuals and organizations operating on inappropriate standards of value and the results of their activities therefore are very often destructive.
For instance, many big corporations operate on “stock price” as one of, if not THE major standards of value. Enron is an excellent case in point. How many millions of people where hurt as a direct result of this inappropriate standard of value?
A proper standard for Enron could instead have been “people’s lives enhanced by their consumption of Enron’s products and services.” They could have measured their success by counting the number of happy customers they had which, coupled with sound management, would have certainly yielded profits AND a decent stock price. But no, their leadership was interested in stock price as the be-all and end-all and so they did whatever was needed to inflate this, the future be damned. The result: tragedy for millions.
What then do we think of a nation that spends trillions on making war instead of making progress? What standard of value is the nation — or more correctly, its leadership which often enough is at odds with the man in the street — what standard of value is this nation operating upon?
Consider drug companies that make products that produce horrible side effects and that kill more people each year than died in the entire Vietnam war. What standard of value are they operating on?
Something is very wrong in these examples, and it becomes obvious that “stock price” and “bottom line” and “me and my pals will get rich” are inappropriate standards of value which, acted upon, spell destruction.
We submit that the ultimate standard of value is THE FORWARDING OF THE MOST LIFE AS POSSIBLE. That is, a thing or action is “good” to the exact degree that it improves, enhances, upgrades, harmonizes life, living things, individually and in their relationships with other living things, on a physical and a spiritual level.
Since the fundamental unit of life is the individual, not the group (any group is composed of individuals), a proper standard of value must ultimately be based on upholding the dignity, freedom, self-determination, understanding and ability of the individual. Groups are valuable as long as they funnel the mutual, worthwhile purposes of individuals in an orderly fashion toward more effective accomplishment than one individual might be able to manage on his own — but, importantly, as long as they do not conceive of themselves as worthier than individuals and consequently justified in negating them.
And when we say “life” we don’t mean just human life. Our own lives depend utterly upon the life and health of trillions of other life forms. Creating a world that is so human-centered that we forget all about our responsibilities toward other creatures is again operating on an inappropriate, far too narrow standard of value.
Vision of an Ideal World
To make all of this more real, consider this vision of what life COULD be in an ideal world.
Imagine all people educated properly — there are many things to say here about an ideal education…but let us mention now an often utterly omitted one: exposure to very many fields of interest, not just the utilitarian, and encouragement to find, quite early on (a child may know more than we credit them to know) and follow a basic purpose that each selects according to his/her natural inclinations and concerns.
Imagine no toxic chemicals produced, an environment free of pollution in air, water and soil. Imagine industry so concerned to do the right thing that they rejected all tools, methods and products that might create toxicity or destroy life forms. Imagine a world where every new invention was tested not only for its convenience and immediate utility, but its effects on living things, and is corrected or rejected where found harmful to life? A world without toxic microwaves and cell phones but with safe, clean, workable alternatives to these — discovered because it MATTERED to the inventors and corporations, who were motivated by the correct standard of value?
Imagine no penalty for doing well in life, no punitive taxes, excessive regulations or oppressions that serve a few at the expense of the many. Imagine keeping what you earn with no guilt and purchasing from governments (local, etc.) what they offer at will. Imagine giving as you see fit and are able directly to charities; or offering to teach people who need training so they can earn their own wherewithal and attain dignity…imagine the sense of responsibility and pride and the opened help flows of such a world!
Imagine complete freedom of thought and expression without fear of reprisal — and yet the right to stand up for what one believes vocally and on one’s own, without required interceptors; and the right when one sees one did wrong, to apologize and make amends as one deems equitable oneself, without required enforcements.
Imagine a world where people are educated toward and do practice tolerance and understanding and who could not even imagine harming another over a difference in beliefs, where no religion establishes that a God has specially selected only their people to love and care for. Is not each of us worthy to the extent that he/she lives ethically and operates upon the basis of good greater than merely self? And if we are all alive (can we really get away with considering that only some of us are?) we are, then, all worthy in the eyes of a Creator. A Source of life would love all instances of life. Any other reality that allows one to feel superior to or cared for more than others, will inevitably divide people and can justify murder. There is amazing value in permitting oneself to love life wherever one sees it, indeed to LOOK FOR the life in others and all about one. It is so easy to not care about others if they aren’t as alive in the eyes of a God as is oneself and one’s kind. To achieve a peaceful, flourishing world, it’s vital to spread the value of tolerance and attain to ever better communication and understanding.
Imagine cities designed so well and in such harmony with nature that they are literally nestled amongst great and mainly undisturbed forests, with grassy roads instead of concrete and asphalt, people driving nearly silent hovercraft that leave no trace of their passing and produce only water as their “waste” products…people also walking and running in order to get around shorter distances.
Imagine a people so healthy that they need no doctors and no drugs except in rare cases of accident. A people educated in nutrition and healthful living who take full responsibility for their own wellness.
You begin to get the picture? Can you see your own role in bringing this about?
The dangerous career of earth will change to the degree that we as individuals adopt and operate upon this standard of value, life itself, and determine that our purpose is to improve the condition of life in all its forms. We must live as examples of our philosophies on all seven days of the week, we must speak out when necessary for such a way of life and teach it to our young. We must also dare to expose and correct those who insist upon living only with greed and destruction.
This change will most likely NOT come from our political and corporate leaders, as so many of them are far too compromised by other motivations. No, it’s got to come from us, regular folk who simply see the truth and are willing to make choices every day based on our standard.
We can decide to drive the most economical, least polluting vehicles. We can trash the microwave oven. We can stop eating fast foods that are poisonous and that support companies that destroy rainforests. (Why not explain to our children, who get seduced by marketing, what a company is really doing? These kids will passionately shun what has looks adorable but does damage.) We can improve our nutrition and lifestyles and so reduce or eliminate the “need” to take drugs. We can stop using poisons on our lawns and in our homes and on our bodies and so protect ourselves, our Children, their children, etc., and the environment. We can support individuals and companies that make truly safe, natural, environmentally responsible products. We can foster efforts to promote direct communication, understanding and tolerance between individuals and hence nations. We can withdraw support from those who create poisons, stifle freedom, promote war, divide peoples and endanger society.
All of these things we can do and WILL do as we hold to this standard of value called life itself.
Although certain it is that you operate already with integrity, caring and creativity, it is helpful, as it is for us also, to turn the attention now and then to what matters and what a more ideal scene would be. Considering this is the first step to its realization. We hope this newsletter serves you well. Taking on as a good habit, as a way of life, inquiring freshly of things and activities, “Does this assist life?” is a great exercise, very eye-opening and is itself the first step to making a better world.
Have a happy and fulfilling year!
Evan
