Ten Positive Trends that Brighten Our Future
© 2011 Corinne McLaughlin
Despite all the crises in the world today, there is much surprising good news if you connect the dots among various trends in human activities. We were created with two eyes for a reason: to see both the positive and the negative aspects of life. It’s important to not be naïve—we need to be vigilant about the negative, destructive forces in the world today. But at the same time, we can use our co-creative power to recognize and energize the good and so help it to grow.
Here are some examples of positive trends, with more information below on each one:
2. The growing movement for socially responsible business and conscious capitalism. Corporations are running the world today, and as their mission and values transform, their beneficial impact on the world increases. Over $3.74 trillion is now invested with some type of values-based social screen. Conscious businesses are proving that policies that honor the needs of all the company’s stakeholders-- employees, customers, suppliers, investors, and the environment-- actually increase profits. A study done at the University of Chicago by Prof. Curtis Verschoor and published in Management Accounting found that companies with a defined corporate commitment to ethical principles do better financially than companies that don’t make ethics a key management component.
3. Revelations about corrupt financial practices and ensuing convictions. Exposes appear in the mainstream media daily, and hundreds of top executives in major banks, financial exchanges and hedge funds have resigned, been indicted or disappeared in the last few years. Sweeping U.S. investigations into insider trading on Wall Street produced 79 convictions as of March 2014. JP Morgan paid a $13 billion settlement for knowingly selling bad loans packaged as securities to unwitting investors, and currency traders at some of the world’s biggest banks, such as Citibank, Barclays, JP Morgan and UBS, are currently being investigated by international officials for rigging the $5.3 trillion a day foreign exchange market. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation recently sued 16 banks for manipulating the Libor rate, and Britain started criminal proceedings around manipulations as well.
4. Awareness about the growing inequality and poverty worldwide. The Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements have brought inequality to the forefront of human awareness. Inequality became a major discussion at the World Economic Summit in Davos this year, as well as a new focus for President Obama and Pope Francis. Activism by many non-profit groups to help the poor is growing and new legislation is being proposed to overcome the growing disparities. Changing this dynamic can relieve the immense suffering of the poor but also can bring the benefits of a more harmonious society to those who are more comfortable financially.
5. The widespread adoption of more sustainable environmental practices. Millions of people are now taking action to reduce pollution and carbon-producing activities. For example, volunteers with the 350.org organization are now active in 188 countries to reverse climate change. Nature also has solutions for healing itself, such as bio-remediation, permaculture and bio-mimicry. For example, toxic waste such as lead and oil, can be cleaned up by using oyster mushrooms. Use of solar and wind energy are growing, and solar energy accounted for 29 percent of all new electricity generation capacity added in 2013, up from just 10 percent in 2012. This made solar the second largest source of new electricity generating capacity behind natural gas.
6. The spreading of conflict transformation techniques among families, schools, groups and nations. Helping to defuse the verbal and physical violence in our society is a high priority, and many children and adults are now learning how to resolve their conflicts peacefully. Conflict resolution techniques are being taught in the public schools in many states. Multi-stakeholder dialogues are helping find common ground among political adversaries and discovering mutually beneficial solutions. The idea is to understand the differences, but act on the commonalities. This approach helps families work out their problems, and it also helps reduce ethnic conflicts around the world.
7. Millions of people taking control of their own healthcare through holistic, alternative practices. By using the less invasive approaches of complimentary and alternative medicine, such as herbal remedies, naturopathy, chiropractic, and homeopathy, people are saving on huge medical costs. They are finding relief from many health problems not solved by traditional medical approaches, and finding alternative approaches very effective in preventing disease. The holistic health industry is booming and expected to reach nearly $115 billion by 2015 according to global industry analysts.
8. The organic agriculture movement transforming how people grow and eat their food. Organic methods avoid chemical fertilizers and toxic insect sprays, as well as genetically modified foods (GMOs). Organic gardens and greenhouses are being created in schools, churches, abandoned inner city lots, as well as suburban backyards. Local farmers markets are springing up in every town. Permaculture methods, including creating food forests, edible landscapes and rain water harvesting, are becoming hugely popular and thousands of young people have signed up for permaculture trainings.
9. The increasing influence of women and feminine values in business and other social institutions. Feminine values are bringing more collegial and nurturing approaches to business practices, with greater priority to nurturing relationships and listening skills. Outstanding women have risen to top levels in every field from business to sports, demonstrating the essential equality of the sexes and providing empowered role models. To bring more balance to gender issues, a movement promoting authentic masculine values, such as courage and dynamic initiative, is engaging men around the country. When the positive expressions of both masculine and feminine energies are in balance in a society, it flourishes.
10. The embrace of tolerance, synthesis, and fusion of opposites among the next generation. Younger people are more embracing of differences in race, religion, sexuality, etc. and they enjoy synthesizing and blending diverse elements, such as fusion music and video mash-ups. They are very involved with service activities to help the world in some way and deeply concerned about protecting our environment. They have grown up with social media, sharing, trading and bartering, and are widely embracing technology-enabled collaboration--sharing cars, houses, clothing, land, etc. The notion of ownership is often burdensome to the younger generation, as many prefer to simplify their lives and find cheaper ways to meet their needs.
All of these examples can be very inspiring and hopeful—especially when you need upliftment from the bad news in the mainstream media. By supporting positive trends inwardly through your prayers and meditations as well as spreading the word about them, you can help create a better world. Your thoughts and words are more powerful than you realize!
© 2011 Corinne McLaughlin
Despite all the crises in the world today, there is much surprising good news if you connect the dots among various trends in human activities. We were created with two eyes for a reason: to see both the positive and the negative aspects of life. It’s important to not be naïve—we need to be vigilant about the negative, destructive forces in the world today. But at the same time, we can use our co-creative power to recognize and energize the good and so help it to grow.
Here are some examples of positive trends, with more information below on each one:
- The immensely popular application of meditation practices in businesses, schools, prisons, etc. worldwide.
- The growing movement for socially responsible business and conscious capitalism.
- Revelations about corrupt financial practices and ensuing convictions.
- Awareness about the growing inequality and poverty worldwide.
- The widespread adoption of more sustainable environmental practices.
- The spreading of conflict transformation techniques among families, schools, groups and nations.
- People taking control of their own healthcare through holistic, alternative practices.
- The organic agriculture movement transforming how people grow and eat their food.
- The increasing influence of women and feminine values.
- The embrace of tolerance, synthesis, and fusion of opposites among the next generation.
2. The growing movement for socially responsible business and conscious capitalism. Corporations are running the world today, and as their mission and values transform, their beneficial impact on the world increases. Over $3.74 trillion is now invested with some type of values-based social screen. Conscious businesses are proving that policies that honor the needs of all the company’s stakeholders-- employees, customers, suppliers, investors, and the environment-- actually increase profits. A study done at the University of Chicago by Prof. Curtis Verschoor and published in Management Accounting found that companies with a defined corporate commitment to ethical principles do better financially than companies that don’t make ethics a key management component.
3. Revelations about corrupt financial practices and ensuing convictions. Exposes appear in the mainstream media daily, and hundreds of top executives in major banks, financial exchanges and hedge funds have resigned, been indicted or disappeared in the last few years. Sweeping U.S. investigations into insider trading on Wall Street produced 79 convictions as of March 2014. JP Morgan paid a $13 billion settlement for knowingly selling bad loans packaged as securities to unwitting investors, and currency traders at some of the world’s biggest banks, such as Citibank, Barclays, JP Morgan and UBS, are currently being investigated by international officials for rigging the $5.3 trillion a day foreign exchange market. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation recently sued 16 banks for manipulating the Libor rate, and Britain started criminal proceedings around manipulations as well.
4. Awareness about the growing inequality and poverty worldwide. The Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements have brought inequality to the forefront of human awareness. Inequality became a major discussion at the World Economic Summit in Davos this year, as well as a new focus for President Obama and Pope Francis. Activism by many non-profit groups to help the poor is growing and new legislation is being proposed to overcome the growing disparities. Changing this dynamic can relieve the immense suffering of the poor but also can bring the benefits of a more harmonious society to those who are more comfortable financially.
5. The widespread adoption of more sustainable environmental practices. Millions of people are now taking action to reduce pollution and carbon-producing activities. For example, volunteers with the 350.org organization are now active in 188 countries to reverse climate change. Nature also has solutions for healing itself, such as bio-remediation, permaculture and bio-mimicry. For example, toxic waste such as lead and oil, can be cleaned up by using oyster mushrooms. Use of solar and wind energy are growing, and solar energy accounted for 29 percent of all new electricity generation capacity added in 2013, up from just 10 percent in 2012. This made solar the second largest source of new electricity generating capacity behind natural gas.
6. The spreading of conflict transformation techniques among families, schools, groups and nations. Helping to defuse the verbal and physical violence in our society is a high priority, and many children and adults are now learning how to resolve their conflicts peacefully. Conflict resolution techniques are being taught in the public schools in many states. Multi-stakeholder dialogues are helping find common ground among political adversaries and discovering mutually beneficial solutions. The idea is to understand the differences, but act on the commonalities. This approach helps families work out their problems, and it also helps reduce ethnic conflicts around the world.
7. Millions of people taking control of their own healthcare through holistic, alternative practices. By using the less invasive approaches of complimentary and alternative medicine, such as herbal remedies, naturopathy, chiropractic, and homeopathy, people are saving on huge medical costs. They are finding relief from many health problems not solved by traditional medical approaches, and finding alternative approaches very effective in preventing disease. The holistic health industry is booming and expected to reach nearly $115 billion by 2015 according to global industry analysts.
8. The organic agriculture movement transforming how people grow and eat their food. Organic methods avoid chemical fertilizers and toxic insect sprays, as well as genetically modified foods (GMOs). Organic gardens and greenhouses are being created in schools, churches, abandoned inner city lots, as well as suburban backyards. Local farmers markets are springing up in every town. Permaculture methods, including creating food forests, edible landscapes and rain water harvesting, are becoming hugely popular and thousands of young people have signed up for permaculture trainings.
9. The increasing influence of women and feminine values in business and other social institutions. Feminine values are bringing more collegial and nurturing approaches to business practices, with greater priority to nurturing relationships and listening skills. Outstanding women have risen to top levels in every field from business to sports, demonstrating the essential equality of the sexes and providing empowered role models. To bring more balance to gender issues, a movement promoting authentic masculine values, such as courage and dynamic initiative, is engaging men around the country. When the positive expressions of both masculine and feminine energies are in balance in a society, it flourishes.
10. The embrace of tolerance, synthesis, and fusion of opposites among the next generation. Younger people are more embracing of differences in race, religion, sexuality, etc. and they enjoy synthesizing and blending diverse elements, such as fusion music and video mash-ups. They are very involved with service activities to help the world in some way and deeply concerned about protecting our environment. They have grown up with social media, sharing, trading and bartering, and are widely embracing technology-enabled collaboration--sharing cars, houses, clothing, land, etc. The notion of ownership is often burdensome to the younger generation, as many prefer to simplify their lives and find cheaper ways to meet their needs.
All of these examples can be very inspiring and hopeful—especially when you need upliftment from the bad news in the mainstream media. By supporting positive trends inwardly through your prayers and meditations as well as spreading the word about them, you can help create a better world. Your thoughts and words are more powerful than you realize!
