Only real win-win scenario

Image capture from www.worldometers.info on December 31st, 2015, at 18:00 GMT.

Another year has passed with a gigantic human footprint on the planet, unfortunately a very negative one. Yet, there are reasons to revitalize optimism in the wake of 2016. By some accounts, 2015 saw a worldwide reduction in carbon emissions in relation to economic growth, which would confirm a tendency already suggested in 2014, when emissions remained constant even though the global economy grew. But that’s not the point. The point is that we are still pouring 35 billion metric tons of a highly toxic gas that will remain in the atmosphere for centuries, as a result of aggregate human activity in all corners of the planet. [To put this figure in perspective, a metric ton of carbon fills up a sphere that is 10 meters in diameter and if we would enter in it, we would die in less than 10 minutes.]

At this stage of the XXI Century, no one can deny, question or pretend to ignore the effect civilization has on the atmosphere, precisely the bubble that holds the conditions to support life on Earth, the only planet in the known universe of which we have scientific proof that life exists.

It is urgent for our generation, as it starts to take the lead worldwide in high-impact, public and private decision-making, to place, atop our list of strategic priorities, innovation and design to reinvent all human endeavors and channel them towards a new paradigm of regenerative development. It suggests to create and distribute wealth while recovering natural capital, which is the source of all inputs and raw materials used in agricultural, industrial and digital production and provision of services, and, at the same time, enables the flourishing and coexistence of all life forms that precisely enrich and feed back into that very capital. This is the only real win-win scenario there is.

I am not suggesting abandoning capitalism, consumerism or hedonism. Each person must be individually responsible for his or her ideologies, ideals and values. It is, nevertheless, absolutely mandatory, to unconditionally comply with the ethical maxim of sustainability, so that all life forms fit in the planet forever. There is no business on a dead planet and we have no plan(et) B.

The climate action required by the Earth is not a responsibility or interest of a few of us. Everyone, without exception, is a crew member on this spacecraft that travels at a very high velocity around the sun, within the solar system, inside a galaxy among billions in a universe that keeps expanding into the vast unknown. We must learn fast and implement public and private policies that result in regenerative development, since there is nothing more important for any rational, sensible and sane human organization –be it a corporation, school, cult or family— to guarantee its existence beyond the lifespan of their current members.

More of this is what we need urgently, and I mean, a matter of life or death. I know 2016 will bring greater climatic challenges and a more shocking reality, but also a more authentic and effective leadership in search for solutions. It is not difficult to achieve the required transformation, but it is certainly impossible if we do not try.

Teachings by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

Today I attended a lecture with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, on making the best use of the wisdom of Buddhism in daily life. Below are some of the powerful yet simple concepts he shared.

We must think more seriously about the oneness of humanity. There are too many secondary differences among us humans, such as religion, nationality, ethnicity; too much division between rich and poor, educated and uneducated, and even within families. Such secondary differences create conflicts of the type "us vs. them" that keep us away from the realization that we all have the same right to achieve a happy life.

We need more global responsibility: if the world was happy, then each individual would derive individual and collective benefits; if the world is in conflict, all individuals will suffer individually and collectively.

Selfish behavior should be wise, not the narrow-minded, short-term selfishness. No one ever wishes they had more trouble in their lives. Everyone wants less conflict. But at the same time, many of our problems are our own creation. This is due to a lack of holistic view or a lack of the wise-selfish behavior that would also benefit others.

Self-centered attitudes lead to destructive emotions. We must expand the concept of "we" to include the entire humanity, to feel closer to each other. In this way, we will generate trust and friendship and reduce fear, anger and hatred that are bad for our health and eat our immune system.

Self-confidence brings inner strength. Peace of mind is the most important factor to achieve it and it can be developed by training mindfulness, compassion and lovingkindness by meditating 30 minutes per day.

All religions share the message of the practice of love. To be rich does not imply to be happy. Wealth does not guarantee inner peace. Human affection is extremely important to live in a happy family.

We must teach common sense. If there is an orientation towards materialistic values, then it will not be enough to simply talk about moral values.

Out of 7 billion people on Earth, about 1 billion are non-believers. Therefore, we need a secular education to build and achieve secular ethics.

Both theistic and non-theistic religions practice love successfully. By teaching tolerance and self-discipline, the practice of love creates self-confidence and inner strength. A non-theistic religion like Buddhism delegates on the individual the responsibility of life: you are the master of your own self-creation.

Buddhism believes in the law of causality and interconnectedness or interdependency. Nothing exists independently. This can be proven through cosmology, psychology, neurobiology and quantum physics. For example, the failure of climate talks are due to national interests prevailing over global interests. Global interests are the only way of taking care of all humanity.

Many problems are solved by changing narrow-mindedness to an holistic approach. Debate is the best way to study. In fact, it is the way in which Buddhism is best taught. Argument and disagreement lead to learning. If people always say "yes", like "yes-ministers", there will be no progress.

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Several questions were asked to him at the end of his lecture. The first one was if all dreams could be achieved. He responded: a dream is a dream. The approach to it must be very, very realistic. You must analyze the goal, then seek suggestions from your peers. If you fail nine times and nine times you make greater efforts, then you will achieve success.

The second one was how he thought Buddhism would be practiced in 1000 years when life on Earth will be compromised, according to scientists such as Stephen Hawking. He responded: in Buddhism, logically, where there is a beginning, there must be an ending. Frankly, don't worry about 1000 years from now. Worry about this century that must be peaceful and happy!

His Holiness ended his participation with a joke, of course: What I hold in my hands is the best proof that East needs West: this water [bottle] is from France!

Leadership Crisis at the Core of our Conflicts

Human life has never been so resourceful. We produce more food than we eat (although it is consumed unequally); science and technology have brought us to an era of hyper-modernity unthought of only a quarter century ago; the flow and access of information is unlimited in volume and at near zero cost; entertainment is amusing and at the tip of our fingers.

Yet, humanity has never faced so many and so dire and complex crises in its history: disease and preventable death among children, armed confrontation and high homicide rates, discrimination towards women, attacks against people with different religious background, ideological clashes, environmental degradation.

Some people believe there are too many humans on the planet. Others think the planet could hold up to 18 billion humans if lifestyle was truly sustainable.

Meanwhile, I perceive a dramatic lack of leadership at all levels. That is no surprise. We have been brought up to follow others' leadership: a religious authority, a school teacher, a government officer, a boss. This has blinded us from our own, individual leadership. We practice it since we learn how to walk and we voluntarily choose in which direction to go and discover our Universe. But faster than we think, our leadership is shadowed by that of others. We must discover the leader within.

Perhaps the gravest problem is not being aware of the need to have collective leadership, which is not achieved by one person instructing what to do, but by many -all of us- moving in the direction of common interests. Like feeding the hungry, curing the sick, empowering women, accepting religious differences, restoring nature.

Our world is in urgent need for solutions. We must have common objectives (perhaps the U.N. has already done an outstanding job at that), we must aspire to them, and we must understand the consequences of not doing so. Look around you. So much freedom to choose what to do with our spare time, buy the latest gadget, travel to a more remote tourist destination, be the first one to be entertained, has in fact enslaved us. Which is the greatest paradox of modern life: the more freedom we have, the more it enslaves us. And still, we have the same 24 hours per day our ancestors had, so it all seems to boil down to time.

And to virtue: how we use that time to serve the common good is a critical factor to prosperity. We can aspire to all the individual happiness we like, and to all the well-being for our family and relatives that we can, but this does not mean we are prosperous. Prosperity is the improvement in the quality of life of all life on Earth. We are seriously far from that. Once again, the bottom line seems to be ethics, or the lack thereof.