Dawning

“Enlighten the people generally, and the tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of the day.”- Thomas Jefferson

This is the dawn of a new golden age.

It begins with each individual. Many have already arisen before this dawn, knowing that, indeed, things cannot go on this way much longer. They know the night cannot go on forever, so they get up and light a candle. They cannot wait for the sunrise, and they do not have to. Awakening is possible at any moment. And there is plenty to do. It is the start of a glorious new day!

I know it is hard to believe. Try not to be too disturbed by the breathless daily recitation of the bad news, for it is but a collection of the most unusual and worst things which makes them newsworthy, by definition. These stories are far, far outnumbered by the daily normal happy stories of love and goodness, not newsworthy because they are so common and routine. The truth is we are gradually, definitively and measurably getting better all the time, even though we have huge issues and problems to solve, and real threats and dangers to avert. 

By almost any metric, more people are well and happier than ever before. We are even awakening to the damage our headlong rush toward prosperity has caused to our planet and environment, and starting to heal it.

 My daily walks not only fill me with sadness as I watch the birds I once saw in greater numbers diminish, but also hope, as I stroll past flowers that were recently removed from the endangered species list because people around me cared enough to notice, and save them. On average, humans an the planet are safer, freer, healthier, smarter, and more enlightened than in any previous period of history we know of. 

The same information revolution that brings us the daily pile of worst things, is also enabling us to find one another, join together, and inspire one another. We have challenges, but maybe we can muddle through, even thrive. Success is never assured, but there is real evidence that hope is reasonable. We have the answers at hand now, would we simply take them to heart, and take the next step.

While the sleepers still slumber, a great day is coming. Now the light is growing and the dark is diminishing. The approach of the new day, or at least the impending end of the night, is undeniable. No, it is not the darkest just before the dawn. It is beginning to get light. Everywhere. 

Even in the places in our world where the hold of the dark has been strongest, there is upheaval. The cages are rattling. People now know about each other and they are waking up to their common needs and aspirations.

And yes, the same powers of communication that allow us to know about one another are available to those who want to do harm. And predictably, they are also stirring, thrashing about, making a desperate last stand, and a mess.  Confusion has been weaponized. Predators hunt in the cracks of the day, the shift change, dusk and dawn. Be wise.

But awakening we are. Some will just watch. Some will sleep through the dawn, preferring to skip the chaos. Some will look for holes to crawl into, some will try everything to deny. The coming of the new day can no more be stopped than the, um, rising of the sun. 

I rejoice. 

And we need not wait. You can join now, and begin to live in the new day dawning. As if. Because merely assuming the posture of the new day is enough to bring it in for you now. How do you imagine the new golden age of love and light?

If it is an age of kindness and truth, embody those qualities. Sharing and abundance? Be that now. Have you not made it this far? Peace, tolerance and forgiveness? Create a space for that in your heart here and now.

 There, so now a beachhead is established. Remember help is available to you for the asking, so ask. Allow the light to wash over you, and give thanks.

Now open your eyes and look around the beach. The storm of the long night has left a lot of trash that is being revealed in the growing light of the dawn. There is work to do. You have a job! Give thanks! It is good work to have.

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.” -Henry David Thoreau

I wonder what we will build?