A Millennium (re)Vision

We can figure this out!

A lot can happen in a thousand years.  Humanity has demonstrated just how much a single species can impact a planet and its ecosystems, not to mention its own culture, even over the past century alone.  Scaling up manufacturing production, information sharing, medical technology, universal knowledge: all of these things have made individuals and organizations more effective at accomplishing the targeted objectives of the human whim.

It seems obvious that bringing to bear the organized pursuit of general well being for the entire planet is well within the capability of billions of human beings.  That is, if we can unify our efforts toward common objectives humanity can accomplish any realistic end state.  And yet, gathering together men and women and the governments that lead them to progressively maintain a better world is rather like herding seven billion cats...on a free range, catnip plantation.

Developing and sharing ideas in a unified fashion has the potential to provide conditional access to those proverbial catnip plants.  A long term vision  that is marketed successfully can catalyze human effort en mass.  Certainly, any long-term vision will have its short-sighted nuances.  As such, a world vision needs to be flexible, both to appeal to a wide variety of people and to permit midstream adjustment over time.  (Yesterday's ozone layer hole becomes today's hurricanes becomes tomorrow's rising glacial ocean threat)

The general goals of this Millennium Vision* project has the single intention of targeting the parameters of greater goodness for our world system.  Admittedly, I am personally "channeling" this one draft version of a better future for all.   Yes, I am one of billions who might come up with parallel visions, yet I have hope that through honest, rational eyes I can present parameters of a particular future that is especially worthy of pursuit.  (at least I will have made a honorable attempt)

One thousand years is an eye blink to the Earth's billions of years.  Yet over the next fifty human generations humanity will likely play the largest role in what comes to be on this planet and relatively nearby.  In that sense these human generations will wield the closest thing to godlike power the world has ever seen.  If we mindfully envision a future, act on that positive target, and monitor and correct as we go, the world stands a much higher chance of arriving at an especially beautiful place.

Let's get to it.

_________________
* Note I have rebranded the working title of this project from The Millennium Plan to The Millennium Vision.  A long term vision must come before assembling the rigorous plan to get there.

Mindful Perseverance

Be Wary of the Human Flame

The planet we live on is being stressed by its occupation of more than seven billion humans and their lifestyles.  Over the past forty thousand years, the human species has worked its way to becoming the fastest world-changing living collective that the Earth has ever known. In that relatively short amount of time we have eradicated by intention and negligence innumerable species, including our hominid cousins, the Neanderthals. All this occured while we steadily transformed land, ocean and air spaces to serve the human whim with little to no long-term reflection.

Having emerged from earlier animal origins humans continue to be driven by inherited primal desires, emotions, and illusory needs.  Evolution dealt the human species a trump card, our minds, and we have used it time and time again against the environment, other species, and our selves.  Our saving grace is this very ability to transcend our evolutionary origins. In the same fashion that humans developed systems to more effectively provide shelter, water, food and technology, we also have developed ethical systems that idealistically reach beyond the default condition of our genetic heritage.

The challenge, of course, is to implement balanced ethical systems that guide human behavior toward a thriving, stable world.  In a thousand years the chaotic planetary chemistry of our own making may very well unmake the human species.  Within a mere million years thereafter the Earth would likely have moved on, pursuing interesting paths of its own devising.

It is in the best interest of humanity as a whole to ratchet up its ethical wherewithal to a level of mindfulness that encompasses the needs of a healthy planet.  The past is behind us, our wake of destruction spreading from horizon to horizon, yet the past is also our instructor.  With patience humans can persevere to work toward a better future.

Primary Objective

The Millennium Plan's core objective toward an ever better future for the planet lies in increasing steadily the well-being of all conscious living things and the communities they belong to here on Earth.

One of Earth's Moving Targets (The Eye of Africa)

Importantly this objective is a moving target that needs must be pursued patiently day to day over the course of decades and centuries.

Equally noteworthy, conscious living things include humans, but also includes the spectrum of conscious creatures that have the potential to thrive and suffer on this planet.

We as humans have a unique, dominant role to steer the course of local and planet-wide effects, effects that impact all species including our own.

The Millennium Plan I will lay out in the weeks ahead shall provide summary guidelines and rationale that can serve as a starting points to inspire human individuals and groups to take effective positive action toward increasing collective well-being.

Forward!

The Millennium Plan: First Thoughts

As I highlighted in my previous post, I plan to develop a variety of ideas in 2016 that organized and in aggregate can serve as an initial Earth management vision.  The intent is to provide a long term resource to guide humans and their communities to effectively ratchet up well being in the world for all non-humans and humans included.

With that said, I open this week's comment space to reader inputs on project parameters, cautions and thoughts in general.

Quark, Atom, Molecule, Life,

Animal, Human,

Community, World, Beyond

The Earth, Ours to Transform?

Resolution MMXVI: Launching a New Vision

Happy Peaceful New Year!

Another year behind. Another ahead.

The time has come to refine the my blog goals. Goodness First will continue to highlight rational ethical positions going forward; however, I will be organizing this year's posts much more intentionally.  Each week I will continue to post an article that will more or less stand alone. In addition, I will strive to craft each article to be a sequential module that I can integrate into a greater whole, an ethical guide, toward effectively inspiring individual and society at large in the pursuit of a world of greater well being.

Admittedly, this is a lofty goal, alas though striving toward utopia itself may not be possible, striving with vision and patience can nudge us closer with each passing day.  The working title of this Goodness First project is Earth: A Millennium Plan.

As ever, I hope you as the reader will find insight from my progressive writing entries.  Importantly, as a Goodness First reader, I ask for your active contributions to the discussion points, to the writing quality and to the project's direction overall.  Your intelligent, passionate and kind remarks will serve as my empowering muse, ever encouraging me to refine my ideas further.  Wielding this process, a process I find similar to methodical, scientific teamwork, together we can create a living, visionary document that can serve humanity and Earth as a well placed stepping stone toward a better world.

I thank you in advance for your ongoing support and readership for what will no doubt be yet another amazing year!

Sincerely,

Brian Bohmueller

The Year in my Rearview Mirror

As a wrap-up 2015 Goodness First post, here is my snapshot assessment of the past year in several different arenas.

Universe: Nearly fourteen billion years after the Big Bang started churning out matter, an emergent life form known as Homo Sapiens sent a probe to the outer periphery of its star system.  The New Horizons exploration satellite provided some amazing photos of Pluto and Charon to help us more deeply understand Kuiper Belt objects and the formation of the solar system in general.  Looking ahead it'll be even more amazing if NASA follows through on their prospective mission that would send a probe to Europa to scan for signs of life beneath its frozen crust.  

New Horizons spots Millennium Falcon in Pluto system?!?

Earth:  Cycling through temperature extremes has never been so prominent.  Fossil fuel and organic methane production continue to push the ability of planetary ecosystems to cope.  By some estimations this thermal surge can result in an extinction of twenty percent of the Earth's current species. Great to see the world community conferencing in Paris tentatively commit to slowing down this climate change.  Time will tell if humanity can step up to manage and minimize our  impact on planetary ecosystems for the well being of all living things.

Society:  Challenges continue as human culture and ever increasing human population pressures strain human society. The Paris terrorism events and Syrian refugee crisis highlight this ongoing instability.  Thirty thousand firearm deaths every year in the US alone further demonstrates the need for taking a step back and regulating the use of these weapons.  Improved secular education seems key to reducing the influence of ancient myths and emotions that run hot.

Media: On a lighter note: my best movie vote goes to Star Wars Episode 7,  for a nostalgic re-rendering of interesting characters and plot lines; the film's bombastic presentation of good and evil reminds me how often real life seeks to imitate fictional art.  Best non-fiction read goes to Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction which explores the rich diversity of Earth's living things and how humanity's actions seem committed to destroying them. Best video game goes to The Talos Principle a serious blend of challenging Portal-esque puzzle solving and AI consciousness philosophy.  Lastly, best novel goes to Andy Weir's The Martian, which unlike the film adaptation, immersed me in the red planet's environs while demonstrating how humanity can bring science, teamwork and individuality can come together to solve problems to explore the Universe peacefully!

Blog:  Goodness First, for its second year, has sought to stir conversation about a variety of topics; my intent has been to encourage people to mindfully reconsider positions and actions toward having a positive effect on oneself, ones communities and the world.  Lately, the blog has averaged 1400 views each month, which I find astounding.  In comparison, only a handful of reader comments have been posted to the blog which indicates to me the area that needs more marketing effort! So please do post mindful comments short or long or anonymous to ratchet up the goodness!!

Self: This has been my first full year in semi-drifter mode.  I have traveled the country, spent time with friends and family, and sought living life with ever increasing ethical and creative mindfulness. I need to continue developing my relationship building and personal achievement skills.  Nevertheless, I have much to be thankful, including everyone who has taken the time to read this blog.  The year 2016 CE approaches and I find myself smiling, ever hopeful that I am spreading peace and well being along my journey!

That's it...have a happy new year full of goodness!

For the Grace of Goodness

As the Solstice Sun spins into view

Bringing the northern hemisphere into Winter season

And the southern into Summer

Let us give thanks

For the Universe in and around us

As secular human society edges toward greater serenity

Leveraging wisdom and knowledge with increasing grace

All while leaving violence gradually behind

Let us give thanks

For peaceful efforts behind and before us

As our communities and families gather

Celebrating consciousness, beauty and mortality

While encouraging joy and discouraging enmity 

Let us give thanks 

For Individuality and Togetherness

Toward Mindful Goodness

May we live our lives

Peace!

Flying Trees [ipixel]