Getting to where we're not going

If you have ever felt a sense of confusion about where your life is headed, say "I"... 

I have met countless people (me included!) over the last few years who appear to be in a state of drifting... Either they were tied to a job they didn't really like, wondering whether there's more to life than that - or (the radical ones) who'd left their jobs and were travelling the world trying to find an answer to 'What should I do next?', drifting nonetheless.

Undoubtedly, when we look at the world and it's many problems - you should think there's plenty of opportunity to get stuck in. Everywhere you look there are hands needed, creativity needed, skills needed to help, to mend, to solve, to fix... So why is finding meaning so incredibly hard??

Are we missing part of the puzzle? What are we overlooking?

Most of us were brought up with some form of a roadmap in mind - thinking that the future will somehow be a bigger better version of the past, if only we get a good education, a good job and do our bit to contribute to the economy. However, recently, in the light of climate change, global politics, economic breakdowns, the future seems significantely more uncertain - in fact, is it just me or do you also see sparkling unicorns cross the scene everytime someone entertains the idea that everything will be ok?

Society has been undergoing massive change, and some part of ourselves has yet to catch up. Our traditional ways of operating no longer exist - in a world of instant knowledge, networking, fast changing technology - who still has a job for life? Who stays in the relationship they started when they were 18? Who is not at some stage in their life moving cities, states, countries, hemispheres? For many of us, keeping a goldfish seems to require careful consideration in terms of commitment.

With our new, interconnected, transient lifestyles, our security has disappeared. Life has become increasingly unpredictable. It's exciting and varied, but increasingly uncertain. Add to that the newsfeed on any regular day, brimming with what often looks like a game of diaster jenga, and suddenly netflix beckons like an island of peace.

In among all of that, we have to navigate our own way, according to a new set of rules that noone really has explained to us. No longer can we do what our parents did. But worse than that - we can't even do the opposite, because rest assured it's been done before and failed as well. 

As we go through more transitions in life than our parents ever dreamed of, we seem to be faced with compound choices. Life becomes an endless series of decisions and options. And from a place of sheer overwhelm, making no decision can start to look like an acceptable life philosophy.

To make these decisions, and to make them in a way that is ethical, moral, and in line with our responsibilities of being human on this planet (a topic for another day) we need to have a deeper understanding of ourselves than ever before. We need to understand how we operate, what drives us, and how we interact with the natural world around us. Because, our default ways of responding appear to be what got us into this mess, so maybe it time to pick up the reigns? While we all no doubt want the best, we're collectively continuing to create results everyday that make things worse - together, because of our overwhelm, we're all getting to where we're not going.

Taking action in a meaningful, ethical and sustainable way through better understanding of how we as humans operate is what this blog channel is about. Stay tuned.

Natalie xx