Each morning I read and write as I think about my direction in life. I have a good number of inspirational people on my various social media channels who inform my thoughts. One person I draw inspiration from is Seth Godin. These words of his today have inspired me to think about my overall direction: "As we enter a post-industrial economy where good jobs are going to continue to get more scarce, creating a positive cultural dynamic-one in which the social contract can deliver meaning-is more urgent than ever."
Years ago when I sat at a round table of leaders at Google, one leader worried about the impending scarcity of good jobs and what that would do to people. Like Godin, I believe it will be the culture we create and our service to one another that can lead us forward in positive ways. What will this mean for my own life?
First, as I say often, everywhere I look I see potential for betterment. In many communities, the public spaces and people's homes are worn out and neglected. There is great potential here to improve our personal and public spaces in ways that make them more inspiring, comfortable, sustainable and enjoyable. Also, too many people are too rushed in society--with more time, I believe people will read more, socialize, create, enjoy music, recreate and engage in the arts. This would be beneficial to who we are a people. And, there's great opportunity to update the way we grow and prepare foods. How can we grow a good amount of food in and around our homes as one way to be a healthy, independent people. Opportunity to travel and learn about this awesome Earth is another potential waiting to happen for so many of us. And, there are many people who need greater support, and we can find ways to provide that support through new care routines/systems, infrastructure, and invention.
So as Godin prompts, how can we create a social contract that creates meaning in our culture--what can we do? As I think about this, the following categories come to mind.
Create
To create is one of the most satisfying human activities, and when we create in ways that relay meaningful messages, inspire, and/or help others, we gain great satisfaction and build camaraderie. In many places, our communities are devoid of the wonderful creativity that bring people together with music and theater, inspire and welcome people with terrific architectural design, and the kind of artful, personal care that empowers and enriches lives. There are countless ways to create more inspiring, beautiful, sustainable, welcoming, and caring communities, and via this collective creativity and share we will build culture that is meaningful for us.
Collaborate
Too often in American society, we don't collaborate enough around common goals in effective ways. The act of apt collaboration builds awesome culture, purpose, and result. When we work together, there's the potential for meaning, joy, and good relationships. We have to look for and make opportunities to come together to create that which will empower our lives and make our culture meaningful.
Celebrate
There is great joy and happiness when we come together to celebrate good times, good people, and good events. We need to continue to make celebration a keystone of culture, and as we do that we need to rethink the way we celebrate so that our celebrations are inclusive, healthy, happy, and memorable.
Care
Too many need more care than they receive in society. Care for one another is one way that we can build a better culture. We have to look for ways to break down the walls that isolate us from one another, and build connections that help us effectively and lovingly care for one another.
Education
There is so much to know and explore in this world, and there's so much potential to elevate educational opportunities for every citizen young and old. We are stuck in too many old ways when it comes to learning, and it's time to modernize the way we learn so that we have the skills, knowledge, and concepts needed to build a stronger, better culture.
Peace
Because we're resistent to looking deeper and working more to build the culture anew with care, education, collaboration, and creativity, we often resort to conflict instead. To work for peace is far more challenging than to give in to conflict. As a world society, we should make peace our goal, and with that, we have to recognize that to reach for peace is a mighty task that requires lots of creativity, intelligence, collaboration, and investment.
There is much we can do to enrich our collective and personal cultures so that our social contracts are meaningful to one another. Godin's call to action in his post today is right on. I will continue to think about how I might answer that call. What do you think?