Factors Transforming Adversity into Opportunity by Duane Elgin

4. Factors Transforming Adversity into Opportunity
Albert Einstein observed that we cannot solve problems at the same level at which they are created; we must view them in a larger context in order to solve them. A larger perspective can simplify that which seems complex and allow new opportunities to present themselves. There are at least four contextual factors that have the power to transform both human relations and human-Earth relations, and thereby to foster a future that is sustainable, sociable, and soulful:

A new perceptual paradigm or mindset is emerging that sees the universe as alive and ourselves as an intimate part of the interdependent web of life.

A global communications revolution is underway that could enable a majority of the human family to talk to itself, listen to itself, celebrate its diversity, find its deep common values, and more consciously choose a sustainable pathway into the future.

More and more people are choosing to live sustainably. They are making voluntary changes toward sustainable ways of living that respond to the push of ecological necessity and the pull of social and soulful opportunity.

A growing appreciation of the power of love to foster reconciliation and to bring greater justice into human relationships.

As these four factors become increasingly alive in human experience, the potential for an evolutionary leap forward is amplified dramatically. Each of these factors is explored in more detail below.
A New Perceptual Paradigm
The most sweeping changes in human life have occurred when our sense of reality and identity have changed-specifically, when we made the transition from a hunter-gatherer existence to farming, and then from farming to urban-industrial society. Each of these transitions represented a revolution in human civilization and in paradigms. In each, we radically expanded our view of ourselves and the universe around us-and this shift in perception had a profound impact on every area of our lives. Once again, profound changes are occurring in our view of reality and human identity. And once again, they are part of a revolution in human civilization.
In its simplest terms, we are opening our view of reality and human experience-from thinking that the universe is dead to directly perceiving that it is alive. The human agenda is transformed by the enlarged scope and increased depth of experience that is represented a shift from a dead to a living cosmos. Let us look briefly at the different ways of living engendered by each of these paradigms:

If the universe is unconscious and dead at its foundations, then we are the product of blind chance among materialistic forces. It is only fitting that we the living exploit on our own behalf that which is dead. Because the universe is lifeless, it does not have a larger purpose or meaning, nor does human existence. It is only natural, therefore, that we focus on consuming material things to minimize life's pains and maximize its comforts. Because we are ultimately separate beings in a lifeless universe, there are no deeper ethical or moral consequences to our actions beyond their immediate, physical impacts.

If the universe is conscious and alive at the foundations, then we are the product of a deep-design intelligence that infuses the entire cosmos. A living universe has generated a living Earth from which conscious, living beings have emerged who can look back at creation with wonder, awe, and curiosity. If life is nested within life, then it is only fitting that we treat everything that exists as alive and worthy of great respect. We shift from feelings of existential isolation in a lifeless universe to intimate communion within a living universe. Our sense of meaningful connection expands to include the overall community of life, both present and future generations. Every action in a living universe is felt to have ethical consequences as it reverberates throughout the deep ecosystem of the living cosmos and beyond. The focus of life shifts from a fascination with high-consumption lifestyles (intended to provide both material pleasures and material protection from an indifferent universe), and toward sustainable and simple ways of living (intended to connect us with a purposeful and living universe of which we are an integral part). In a living universe, it is only natural that people would choose simpler ways of living that afford greater time and opportunity for meaningful relationships, creative expression, and rewarding experiences. This perspective brings a renewed sense of purpose: to engage the inner world of humanity's psyche and spirit with the outer world of action in the common work of building a sustainable, compassionate, and soulful planetary civilization.

The shift being described is much more than a switch from one set of values, thoughts, and concepts to another. James George, former Canadian ambassador with a long-standing commitment to the environment, described the feeling qualities and visceral nature of paradigm change in his book Asking for the Earth:

[A paradigm shift] is not just an idea, it is an experience; and experiences take place in the moment, in bodies with feelings. So do paradigm shifts. They first infiltrate your mind, then they grab you in the gut; only then do you "get it" and act. 56

The idea of a living universe is an ancient one in human experience. Luther Standing Bear expresses the wisdom of Indigenous Peoples around the world in saying that, for the Lakota Sioux "there was no such thing as emptiness in the world. Even in the sky there were no empty places. Everywhere there was life, visible and invisible, and every object gave us a great interest to life. The world teemed with life and wisdom. . ." . 57 A growing number of persons in economically advantaged nations are recovering this ancient insight after developing in cultures that has, until recently, viewed the universe as a lifeless machine. Ironically, it is through the lens of science that we are gaining new knowledge about the universe that invites us to consider it as a living organism.
During this century, the Western, scientific view of the nature of the universe has changed dramatically. Less than a hundred years ago, Einstein thought that the universe was a static, unchanging system no larger than our galaxy. Today, we know that the universe is expanding rapidly and contains at least 50 billion galaxies, each with a 100 billion or more stars. In recent decades, scientists have made many stunning discoveries that have added to the scope and depth of the awesome mystery that is our universe. The pioneering physicist Neils Bohr put the matter bluntly, stating that "anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it."
Whereas we once viewed space as empty, the new physics asserts that, even in a complete physical vacuum, immense levels of background energy remain (called zero-point energy). . 58 Another dramatic departure from the traditional view is that the cosmos is now seen as an integrated system that, in some mysterious way, is profoundly unified. Indeed, one of the most stunning insights from modern science has been the discovery of "nonlocality." Things that are seemingly separate are really connected in fundamental ways that transcend the limitations of ordinary space and time. . 59 Still another astounding discovery is that immense levels of energy flow through the universe and continuously regenerate it. As physicist Brian Swimme explains, "The universe emerges out of an all-nourishing abyss not only 15 billion years ago but in every moment." . 60 Everything in the cosmos is a flowing movement that arises with everything else, moment by moment, in a process of continuous regeneration. Some scientists now suggest that, not only is our universe alive, it has also evolved through natural selection. 61
Turning from science to society, national surveys in the United States indicate there is a shift in perception underway that is congruent with this changing view of reality. Here are several examples of the shift that is underway:
A 1975 survey of U.S. adults found that 25 percent had the "sense that all the universe is alive." 62 Contrast that finding with these from two decades later: A 1994 survey found that 55 percent of Americans considered nature to be sacred or spiritual. 63 In another survey that year, one-third of the respondents reported having had a "mystical experience," including a sense that "love underlies all things" and other qualities congruent with a living universe. 64 The percentage of Americans who believe in telepathy (communicating through means other than the five senses) grew from 37 percent in 1949 to 56 percent in 1996. 65 These trends are consistent with the emergence of a "living systems" view of the cosmos in which consciousness is regarded as a life-force that extends beyond the body.

The business literature is filled with articles and books viewing organizations as living and learning systems. For example, Joseph Jaworski's popular book Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership describes the fundamental shift in thinking underway in business. In it, Jaworski states "Our mental model of the way the world works must shift from images of a clockwork, machinelike universe that is fixed and determined, to the model of a universe that is open, dynamic, interconnected, and full of living qualities." 66 Tachi Kiuchi, past chairman and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric America, has explored the workings of rainforests for insights on how to run a successful business. Writing in The Futurist, he states "If we ran our companies like the rain forest, imagine how creative, how productive, how ecologically benign we could be. We can begin by operating less like a machine and more like a living system." 67
The paradigm shift from a dead to a living universe transforms the human story. We move from a secular journey in a fragmented and lifeless cosmos without apparent meaning or purpose, and into a sacred journey through a unified and living universe whose purpose is to support the emergence of self-organizing beings and communities at every scale. We become participants in an unceasing miracle of creation. This perception brings with it a recognition that our potentials are as exalted and magnificent as the universe that surrounds and sustains us. As we begin to consciously explore our connection with a living universe, interest in material consumption tends to shift more into the background of our lives. From this new mindset or perceptual paradigm could come a new human agenda: instead of mobilizing to protect what we have and fight one another as enemies, we could mobilize to share what we have and support one another as friends who seek to advance the common work of building a sustainable planetary civilization.
The Global Communications Revolution

It is our ability to communicate that has enabled humans to move from tribal societies to the verge of a planetary civilization. Anything that dramatically enhances our ability to communicate will thus have a profound influence on our future evolution. And, at present, humanity is undergoing an absolute revolution in our ability to communicate.
A century ago, the world was a vast place, where oceans and continents insulated people from one another. Events in one part of the world would be utterly unknown elsewhere on the Earth for months, if they were ever known at all. With the explosive growth in global communications over the past few decades, involving computers, the internet, satellites, television, and digital communications-all that is changing profoundly. The global communications revolution is so powerful that it can be regarded as one of the factors that can transform our time of initiation from an evolutionary crash into an evolutionary leap forward.
Because we are in the midst of an absolutely unprecedented increase in the scope, depth, and complexity of global communications, the impact of the communications revolution on our future will be equally unprecedented. The raw power of these new technologies is like nothing we have known before, as these examples show:

According to Joseph Pelton, who has written extensively about the globalization of telecommunications, a single advanced satellite or fiber-optic cable currently has the capability of sending the entire Encyclopedia Britannica with all its illustrations every three seconds. 68 Future prospects are even more breathtaking: "In another quarter of a century these are likely to be . . . systems that could send the equivalent of the entire U.S. Library of Congress in less than 10 seconds." 69

John Midwinter, writing in the annual review of the Institute for Information Studies, observes that the computing and communications industry "shows every sign of continuing its breathtaking pace for at least one or two decades more (e.g., doubling performance every one or two years), implying a revolution in capability every five to ten years." 70

Internet growth has been extremely rapid. Worldwide, an estimated 40 million people used the internet in 1996. This number is expected to jump to nearly 200 million by 1999, and then to 500 million by 2001. 71 By 2010, there will be an estimated one billion people continuously connected to the World Wide Web 72 Mark Pesce, writing about the internet, says that "it is not an overstatement to frame the World Wide Web as an innovation as important as the printing press-it may be as important as the birth of language itself . . . in its ability to completely refigure the structure of civilization." 73

When a planetary scope of human connection is combined with the functional intelligence of computers, a new level of human awareness and communication-a "global brain"-could potentially emerge. Robert Entman, who has done in-depth research on the future of universal telecommunications, alludes to this when he writes that "a substantial increase in the functional intelligence of the species seems imminent." 74 Peter Russell describes the blossoming of the global brain in this way: "Billions of messages continually shuttle back and forth, in an ever-growing web of communication, linking the billions of minds of humanity together into a single system." 75
Geographic isolation is rapidly giving way to electronic intimacy. How soon might the emerging global brain achieve some sort of critical mass and turn on? One important assessment comes from a report by the Institute for Information Studies: The universal global telecommunications network will serve as the main . . . telecommunications conduit for economic, social, cultural, and political exchange among the peoples of the planet Earth in the 21st century. This network may start to come into place around the second decade of the 21st century. 76
Because fiber-optic cable will likely be the medium of choice for high-density routes among developed countries, the rate of its use is one meaningful indicator of the rate at which the global brain is being wired. Figure 4 shows an estimate by Bell Northern Research for the growth and deployment of optic fiber in developed countries. 77 If this is an accurate indicator, then by the 2020s, the basic communications infrastructure will be in place to support a major leap forward in our ability to communicate.

Figure 4: Projected Rate of Deployment of Fiber-Optic Cable in Developed Nations
Expanding the reach of the internet will be hundreds of satellites that will be launched over the next few years to form the infrastructure for a wireless communications system. Writing in Scientific American, Joseph Pelton predicts that, by 2003, there will likely be 1,000 commercial communications satellites in service, up from about 220 in 1998. 78 This new generation of satellites, placed in low Earth orbit, will revolutionize global communications. John Evans, writing about "New Satellites for Personal Communications" in Scientific American, states, "By 2000 it will be possible to call home from essentially anywhere on the planet using a handheld terminal similar to one of today's cellular phones. For better or worse we need never be out of touch, no matter where we are." 79
Combined with satellites, cellular phones will enable developing countries to bypass the need to develop a vast network of telephone lines strung along poles. According to Lester Brown, there is an enormous advantage to this: "It enables developing countries to literally leapfrog into the future, avoiding investment in traditional equipment and networks." 80 The internet could also have a very positive impact on developing countries. 81 For some people, it offers the opportunity of global telecommuting; there are now software programmers in India, for example, who commute daily to work in Silicon Valley. For others, the internet offers tele-medicine- low-cost, online, medical assistance even in remote areas of the world. The internet can also help isolated groups find markets for goods and services, and empower local activists by linking them with supporters across the globe. The internet and communication satellites are weaving developing and developed nations into an integrated fabric of communication.
Combining all these communication trends, it seems likely that, within 10 to 20 years, the human family will have in place the communications infrastructure that could support a quantum increase in the collective intelligence-and the collective communication-of our species. When the time of global initiation fully arrives, there will be an abundance of tools available to communicate our way through this evolutionary transition.
Like all powerful technologies, however, the tools of global communication present humanity with a double-edged sword. On the one hand, these tools could enable us to communicate with one another about the design of a sustainable future; on the other hand, these are the primary tools that are injecting a consumerist mentality and consciousness into the world's psyche. We are in a race between the mindful use of global communications and its manipulative use for mindless consumerism. At present, we are programming the mass media for commercial success and our public consciousness for evolutionary failure. Depending on the spirit and intention with which we use these powerful communication tools, we will create radically different pathways into the future.
If the transformative power of global communication is combined with study circles and other forms of grass-roots dialogue, then a local-to-global conversation could emerge that grows a working consensus about a sustainable future. Individuals could engage in face-to-face conversations at the local level-in homes, schools, churches, civic organizations, and workplaces-and these conversations could be connected with similar ones at the global level via the internet. If we could generate this kind of worldwide dialogue, it seems plausible that the human family could mobilize itself and begin building an innovative future that we scarcely could have imagined just a decade or two earlier.
Choosing to Live Sustainably

In the U.S., consumer purchases account for nearly two-thirds of economic activity. If a significant percentage of Americans were to turn away from consumerism, the effects would be dramatic. There would be less stress on the environment, and more resources available for developing countries. If people in developed nations were to shift deliberately toward a way of life that is lower in physical consumption and higher in social and spiritual satisfaction, it would represent a major transformation. This transformation is beginning to happen. A new set of priorities is emerging in the world, as shown by scientific surveys:

In the largest environmental survey ever conducted, people from around the world expressed their desire to have more teeth added to environmental laws. This survey, which was conducted in the spring of 1998 for the International Environmental Monitor, involved more than 35,000 respondents in 30 countries. 82 It found that "majorities of people in the world's most populous countries want sharper teeth put into laws to project the environment." Majorities in 28 of the 30 countries surveyed (ranging from 91 percent in Greece to 54 percent in India) say that environmental laws as currently applied in their country "don't go far enough." The survey report concludes: "Overall, these findings will serve as a wake-up call to national governments and private corporations to get moving on environmental issues or get bitten by their citizens and consumers who will not stand for inaction on what they see as key survival issues."

The Health of the Planet survey, conducted in 24 nations by the Gallup organization in 1993, is perhaps the most important global survey of attitudes toward the environment. 83 In writing about the survey, its director Dr. Riley E. Dunlap concluded that there is "virtually worldwide citizen awareness that our planet is indeed in poor health, and great concern for its future well-being." The survey found that residents of poorer and wealthier nations express nearly equal concern about the health of the planet. Majorities in most of the nations surveyed gave environmental protection a higher priority than economic growth, and said that they were willing to pay higher prices for that protection. When asked who is "more responsible for today's environmental problems in the world," the most frequent response was that industrialized and developing countries are "both equally responsible." There was little evidence of the poor blaming the rich for environmental problems, or vice versa. Instead, there seems to be a mature and widespread acceptance of mutual responsibility.

Concern for the environment, combined with other factors, may be leading to a worldwide shift in values away from materialism. Evidence of the beginnings of a global shift to "postmaterialist" values emerges from the massive World Values Survey, conducted in 1990-1991 in 43 nations, which represent nearly 70 percent of the world's population and cover the full range of economic and political variation. 84 Ronald Inglehart, global coordinator of the survey, concluded that, over the last 25 years, a major shift in values has been occurring in a cluster of a dozen or so nations-a change that he calls the "postmodern shift." 85 This shift in values has been occurring primarily in the United States, Canada, and Northern Europe. In these societies, the earlier emphasis on economic achievement is shifting to postmaterialist values that emphasize individual self-expression, subjective well-being, and quality of life concerns. At the same time, people are placing less emphasis on organized religion, and more emphasis on discovering their inner sense of meaning and purpose in life. 86

A 1995 survey of Americans' views on the issue of consumption suggests that a deep change is occurring in the culture and consciousness of the United States. 87 Commissioned by the Merck Family Fund, the survey found that respondents' deepest aspirations are non-material. For example, when asked what would make them much more satisfied with their lives, 66 percent said "if I were able to spend more time with my family and friends"; only 19 percent said "if I had a bigger house or apartment." Twenty-eight percent of the survey respondents said that, in the last five years, they had voluntarily made changes in their lives that resulted in making less money, such as reducing work hours, changing to a lower-paying job, or even quitting work. The most frequent reasons given for voluntary downshifting were:
-- Wanting a more balanced life (68 percent)
-- Wanting more time (66 percent)
-- Wanting a less stressful life (63 percent).
Has it been worth it? Eighty-seven percent of the downshifters described themselves as happy with the change. In summing up the survey's findings, the report states, "People express a strong desire for a greater sense of balance in their lives-not to repudiate material gain, but to bring it more into proportion with the non-material rewards of life."

Another U.S. survey that reveals a deep shift in values and priorities was conducted by Paul Ray in 1995. 88 His random national survey found that there is a core group of roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population (roughly 20 million adults) who are choosing to live in a way that integrates a strong interest in their inner or spiritual life with an equally strong concern for living more in harmony with nature. As a group, these people are living more simply, working for ecological sustainability, and willing to pay the costs for cleaning up the environment. They also are largely unaware of one another and feel relatively isolated.

The implications of these values changes are immense. They suggest that a significant portion of humanity does not view consumerism as a compelling vision for a meaningful future. Could a shift to postmaterialist values occur rapidly if this reservoir of sympathy and support were encouraged?
Perhaps we are discovering intuitively an insight about the nature of civilizational growth which the esteemed historian Arnold Toynbee came to after a lifetime of studying the rise and fall of more than 20 of the world's civilizations. Toynbee concluded that the conquest of land or people was not the true measure of civilizational growth. True growth, he said, occurs as civilizations transfer an increasing proportion of energy and attention from the material to the non-material side of life, and develop their culture, capacity for compassion, sense of community, and strength of democracy. Toynbee called this the "Law of Progressive Simplification." 89 He said that authentic growth consists of a "progressive and cumulative increase both in outward mastery of the environment and in inward self-determination or self-articulation on the part of the individual or society." 90 If Toynbee is correct, then living more sustainably and lightly upon the Earth is central to our evolutionary agenda.
Reconciliation and Transformation of Relationships
There is a fourth contextual factor with the power to transform our collective initiation from an evolutionary crash into an evolutionary bounce: the conscious respect and regard for others that ultimately comes from a foundation of love. 91 Love is an invisible, transformative power that is impossible to quantify and measure. Yet it brings the possibility of forgiveness, and it heals relationships. In their book Beyond the Limits, Donella Meadows and the other authors looked at human attitudes toward the future and reached the striking conclusion that "the deepest difference between optimists and pessimists is their position in the debate about whether human beings are able to operate collectively from a basis of love." 92 [emphasis added]
A world divided against itself is a recipe for global collapse. The industrial era has been a time when extended relationships and traditional communities have been torn apart. We have become a rootless, mobile societies, in which temporary relationships and friendships predominate. A hallmark of the emerging era could be the reconciliation and healing of many fragmented relationships: between men and women, between races and ethnic groups, between humans and the rest of life on Earth, between religious groups, between the rich and the poor, and between generations. Unless we bring these divisions into our collective dialogue about our common future, it seems unlikely that we will pull together as a human family.
Reconciliation does not mean forgetting the suffering and injustices of the past; rather it means not letting the past stand in the way of opportunities for the future. When historic injustices and grievances are publicly acknowledged and accepted, hurts of the past no longer stand in the way of collective progress. When injustices are collectively acknowledged and realistic remedies sought, all parties are freed from the need to continue blaming and feeling resentful and can instead focus instead on cooperating to build a better future. It is promising to see how humanity is beginning to bring a spirit of reconciliation to many areas:
Gender, racial, and ethnic reconciliation--If humanity is to work together cooperatively, we must learn to embrace our diversity-racial, ethnic, and sexual. One of the most fundamental revolutions of our times is the changing relationship between women and men; it is a relationship that is shifting from patriarchy to partnership. Global surveys show that the status of women is improving and their acceptance in a partnership role in society is increasing. In 1995, the Gallup organization conducted the Gender and Society survey in 22 countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America. 93 The survey found that:

In most countries, majorities believe that the position of women in their country has improved in the last five years.
Large majorities in all countries said that job opportunities should be equal for men and women.
In all countries but one, majorities believed their country would be governed better if more women were involved in politics.
Because the relationship between men and women is so basic to the human experience, a shift in gender relations from domination to partnership dramatically increases humanity's potential for living more cooperatively and sustainably. Here is how Susan Davis, executive director of the Women's Environment and Development Organization, views the intimate connection between gender equality and sustainable development:

Gender equality is not a luxury. It's not an afterthought. It is a prerequisite for anything that can be fashioned and [legitimately] called sustainable development. We're talking not just about ending oppression. We're talking about unleashing leadership, creativity, and real wisdom. We will not get there without achieving gender equality. 94

An important example of reconciliation is the end of apartheid and racial separation in South Africa and the work of that country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Established in 1995 to promote national unity while confronting human rights violations during the apartheid era, the Commission has taken over 15,000 statements from both victims and their perpetrators. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a member of the commission, writes that, "the government reasoned the entire nation needed to hear the stories of the pain suffered under apartheid, to admit mistakes, and to heal." 95 The result, he says, "has been almost breathtaking-this willingness to forgive, this magnanimity, this nobility of spirit." 96
Another example of reconciliation is the work to heal the relationship between the Aboriginal people and the European settlers in Australia. On May 26, 1998, Australia commemorated "Sorry Day" to express people's regret and shared grief for a tragic episode in Australian history. Throughout much of this century, aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families with the aim of assimilating them into Western culture. 97 In cities, towns, and rural centers, in schools and churches, people stopped to acknowledge this injustice. In turn, Sorry Day has "given a burst of hope that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians can be reconciled." 98
Spiritual reconciliation--Religious intolerance has produced some of the bloodiest wars in history. Reconciliation among the world's religions is vital to humanity's future. The potential for mutual respect and appreciation among religions was demonstrated in 1993 when, for the second time in history, representatives of the world's great spiritual traditions came together for a Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago. This event attracted almost nine thousand people, representing every major religion in the world. Over eight days of speeches, concerts, prayers, and demonstrations, it was evident that, despite the immense diversity, a higher unity was present. 99
Another encouraging expression of religious reconciliation are recent efforts toward reconciliation of religious differences in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. A final barometer of reconciliation is the growing appreciation around the world for the wisdom and rich cultures of indigenous and tribal peoples. 100 Overall, despite countervailing trends toward fundamentalism, there is a growing awareness and appreciation of the world's different spiritual traditions. 101
Ecological reconciliation-- Living in harmony with the Earth is essential if we are to survive and evolve as a species. Surveys cited above (such as the Health of the Planet), indicate that a majority of the human family recognizes that our collective future depends on the integrity of the overall biosphere, whose strength, in turn, depends on the presence of a broad diversity of plants and animals. However, surveys show that the public at large, while sympathetic to the alarm of biologists regarding the extinction of species, has only a vague understanding of the seriousness of our situation. We are in a race between massive extinction and taking our first steps toward a conscious relationship with the larger community of life. At the grass-roots level, a quiet revolution has been underway for decades; innumerable nonprofit organizations are working on behalf of the many different components of the global ecosystem-from rainforests and migrating birds to eco-tourism, sustainable energy, organic agriculture, and eco-villages.
Economic reconciliation-- Enormous and growing disparities exist between the rich and the poor. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that living sustainably will require that these differences be narrowed and that a reasonable, minimum standard for economic well-being for all people be established. It will be immensely difficult to bridge the economic gap. A new spirit of common enterprise and higher possibility could draw the human family toward greater economic justice. Economic reconciliation implies that wealthier people and nations will begin to simplify the material side of life voluntarily and shift increasing energy and attention into both non-material growth and assisting developing nations. Numerous surveys show that there already exists considerable sympathy in developed countries for more sustainable ways of living and that, in the U.S., a small but significant part of the public is experimenting with simpler ways of living. These trends could portend much larger changes in the decades ahead.
Actions at the heart of reconciliation are both simple and difficult-bringing legitimate grievances into public awareness, mourning the mistakes of the past, taking responsibility for participation in them, and seeking just and realistic remedies. With conscious amends and conscious forgiveness, social energy that was immobilized in resentment can be freed up for productive working relationships.
With the communications revolution, the world will become a much more transparent place that will be unable to hide divisions, whether between rich and poor, men and women, religious groups, ethnic groups, or races. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that to realize justice in human affairs, "injustice must be exposed, with all of the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured." 102 Injustice and inequities flourish in the darkness of inattention and ignorance. When the healing light of public awareness is focused on them, it creates a new consciousness among all involved. When everyone knows that the whole world is watching-when the media bring injustice and violence before the court of public opinion-we may see a marked shift toward greater justice and harmony in human relations.
As we enter the era of evolutionary initiation, we may fragment in conflict or hold together in a common enterprise. Whichever way we choose will determine whether or not we achieve an evolutionary leap forward-a step up to a new level of maturity and capacity as a species. The healing power of love could enable a majority of the human family to pull together on behalf of a sustainable future, and this could be a decisive factor. To pull together as a cooperative global family, we will need to know, intuitively, that we can rely on the foundation of mutual recognition, respect, and love that we have established among ourselves.
A Global Opportunity
The four contextual factors that we have just examined are powerful enough to transform great adversity into even greater opportunity. Each of these involves human solutions rather than technological solutions. Even the global revolution in communications technology provides no magic solutions; to make a difference, it requires human beings to communicate deliberately and with a new level of maturity about our collective enterprise. The point is that the most powerful factors for transforming our future are essentially invisible and have to do with who we are as human beings. Together they may bring a new "common sense" into the world-a new sense of reality, identity, and social purpose that humanity can hold in common as a foundation for a workable and meaningful future.
When these four contextual factors are combined with important new technologies (such as fuel cells, micro-turbines, and solar cells) and new approaches to production (such as alternative farming techniques, urban greenhouses, industrial ecologies as closed systems, and telecommuting), it seems clear that we have the real opportunity to achieve an evolutionary bounce. But what happens when adversity trends intersect with opportunity trends?

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© Copyright 1999, Duane Elgin
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