Coronavirus is leaving the front pages. It appears to be outpaced by problems such as poverty and unemployment. In addition, the world is concerned about crime, education, climate change, and immigration. Mankind seems so confused and tired that it does not know how to approach the global problems that are piling up. And it’s not that there are too many problems, it’s that there is no goal to achieve. If there are no goals, there are no aspirations; and if there are no aspirations, there is nothing to live for.
You might argue that everyone’s goal is to be happy, and that’s certainly true. However, when we all have our own idea of happiness, and only our own happiness, everyone goes our own way and becomes unhappy, burned out, and eventually gives up on happiness altogether.
So the first thing we need to determine is what we think is most important in life and how we want to achieve it. We can then determine what will help or hinder us in achieving our goal.
Our first task is to recognize that the whole world is interconnected, as evidenced by the many global crises. Personal happiness, which ignores the happiness of the rest of us, is a privilege we no longer have. Consequently, we must define happiness as a collective concept, or at least we must aspire to it. Only if we move in this direction will we make real progress toward happiness because it will have the support of the whole society.
Once we realize that this should be our goal and start working toward it, things will improve, not only for people but for all flora and fauna. If we are convinced that we must take care of the well-being of all people, then we must make sure that they do not suffer from pollution, that they have clean water and air, enough energy and healthy food. And for there to be well-being, someone has to take care of housing and education. As a result, we will balance the use of resources and consume only what is necessary out of concern for the well-being of everyone else.
We won’t need rules and conferences where world leaders fly in air-polluting planes to make empty speeches. People will be able to regulate their own well-being because they realize that their own happiness depends on the happiness of everyone else.
In other words, we will achieve sustainability and build a happy life for ourselves if we focus not on preventing pollution and reducing emissions, but on mutual care and concern for one another. It is the only way to find stability and happiness in today’s world.
