TWO VIEWS - Looking for balance in the 21st Century

As we race forward into the 21st century, mankind’s unlimited ability to prosper will be increasingly testing the Earth’s limited ability to support that prosperity. Over the past 50 years, the global middle class—defined here as those who are able to spend a third or more of their income for non-necessities—has tripled to over one half of the world’s population. Incredibly, this number has the potential to double again in the coming decades. Forever more, we will not only be looking for the proper balance between our individual wants and needs, but for the proper balance between our aspirations and the limitations of our only home, the Planet Earth.

Up until now, most of us have focused primarily on what’s right for ourselves and what’s right for the other people involved in our lives. Little consideration was needed for the people that lived on the other side of the world. But today we live in an increasingly interconnected world and sometimes our need to specialize in our local tasks makes us forget the bigger picture. Unfortunately, our personal goals can blind us into the ‘us versus them’ situations that often end with tragic consequences.

As we rush into this new century together, we need to look at all aspects of the issues we face—not just the tradeoffs between ‘limited and unlimited’ but at the very essence of the differences between you, me and we. The viewpoints offered here cover a broad range of human issues where there is no single answer. Liberal and conservative is a common example, especially in America. Different people can have different opinions and still be decent people. These differences are traditionally regarded as dualities (or more colloquially as ‘issues’) because they represent both contrasting, yet acceptable aspects of the human experience. But to many individuals, their views are often framed in black and white. Yet when we look at populations as a whole, we see many shades of grey. People can be liberal is some areas of their lives and conservative in others. Normally, we have the ability to be flexible in our views but more often that not, we aren’t. Too many of us go about looking for the information that supports our views, and wind up refuting anything that contests them.

But recognizing that there are lots of changes going on in our world—like the relentless competition for natural resources, trade and profits—means that we should be reviewing our positions more frequently. This means we all have the ability to look at both sides of our views and learn not only what other people are thinking but why they think that way. ‘Two Views’ gives you some convenient introspective tools for a better understanding of the necessary balance that our dominant species needs, as it only has a single home to share. This understanding puts us in a better position to see not only what’s in our best interest, but what’s in the best interest of all.

One World, Two Views, Three Word Meditation, Four Functions
The Introspection of Robert C. Felix
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http://www.amazon.com/The-Partners-Within-ebook/dp/B0041KL74I/ref=sr_1_1...