The Future of the Future

Boy—I musta been holding it in for a minute, ‘cause give a brother a soapbox and he’s ready to gi-zo. Remind me to let it flow in the future.

And about the future—I realized I just teased a touch about it in the last post so I’ll tickle it up here for a minute.

The future I see is beautiful.

The emergence of a spiritual emphasis for our culture has enormous implications. And while in the short term it may lead to more yoga teachers and self-help gurus (god bless them), eventually it will lead to artists, artists, artists and more artists.

Or maybe I should put that another way—although this may lead in the short-term to yoga teachers and gurus who are artists, eventually it will lead to artists who are (or are as) yoga teachers and self-help gurus. As I would trade a year of yoga for two hours with a fully realized artist (as opposed to the tortured, drunk, withdrawn kind we seem to enjoy making movies about), I find this distinction extremely preferable.

It will also have the additional byproduct of a worldwide, modern, mature, vital, fun, ecstatic culture—with new dances, songs, paintings, web sites, conceptual pieces, recipes, ways to raise a family, methods of worship, and places to hang out and meet people. It will produce better clothes, more loving television, more interesting movies, more inspired magazines, more loving cities, more relaxed workplaces, more environmentally-friendly buildings and products, and stronger and more interdependent communities for all of us.

That’s my assertion. And I’m willing to live or die by it.

With the material world being mastered more easily, employing fewer people and comprising a diminishing return on investment for businesses, spiritual and creative values are becoming pre-eminent in our society. The largest success stories are: Apple’s Ipod (creative product encouraging creative use of others creativity), Whole Foods (bringing spiritual values to the creation and distribution of our most important material produce), Google (democratizing the flow of information using the market mechanism), Oprah (love to daytime TV), The Purpose Driven Life (haven’t read anything but the title), and Kanye West (a song called “Jesus Walks” on national radio!).

Other similar, though possibly less obvious successes are: the rise of Yoga, Pilates, etc.; the Wellness movement; Extreme Makeover Home Edition; The Passion of Christ (subject if not execution); and smaller, growing businesses like Potbelly Sandwiches (a fun Subway), American Apparel (a loving and lovely “sweatshop” in LA), and Julius Meinl (Starbucks with an actual culture).

Still more: the rise of reality TV (eventually they’ll make the real real), a decreasing murder rate nation-wide, the rise of luxury goods (trust me for a minute on this one), the emergence of hybrid cars, growth of international interfaith movements, social entrepreneurs, fall of the Berlin Wall, capitalism in China, recall of the Ukrainian vote, etc, etc.

While some people obviously see these as nothing more than aspects of a new fashion—or even worse, of crass marketing ploys—they are in my opinion the direct outcome (and first real and big flowers) of years of cultural and economic development. I believe these are all powerful examples of an emerging spiritual economy and culture: one that values creativity, freedom, inspiration, beauty, abundance, sharing, and interconnectedness—love—over all else. It has come only once we could afford it but that’s no reason, in my opinion, to disbelieve its arrival.

This culture is growing worldwide. And, as it grows at the speed of inspiration and ideas (as opposed to the material world that moves at the speed of bricks and mortar) I believe that it is fair to say that this emerging spiritual culture is growing exponentially where previously cultures grew multiplicatively.

In a very real sense, we have spent the past two millennium creating a system of production and delivery. We always told ourselves that we were sacrificing for a better life for our children and now here we are—with the world that we’ve built all but killing our children as it tries to increase the competitive pressure that has yielded (material) results for so long.

The world we are standing in front of, staring into the void for, is one where we can live as those children that life was always lived in the service of—one where we can enjoy a spiritual yield our whole lives. If we let ourselves, that is.

It will not be a regression into childhood but a life where we live and provide for ourselves as adults and enjoy and create with the tender vulnerability and peace of mind of a protected child. (Allowing us to avoid a second childhood). Eventually we’ll be able to blend and mix as we see fit. A good example of this would be a modern artist/producer/businessman or woman like Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Beyonce, Eminem, etc.

Eventually there will be artists with not only the street smarts, artistic talent, and energy of these four but also the quietude of buddhist monks, the daily impact of a Oprah, the spiritual insight of a griot, lasting relationships, and the playfulness of a five-year old on Christmas. (Which is not to say that any of these artists lack any of these attributes—I have no way of knowing--my point is that there will be art that deals more explicitly with and displays more concretely a knowledge of these topics).

Where we are now, as Funkadelic so presciently informed us, is “Standing on the Verge of Getting It On”! And for the first time in history we can see a time when we not only buy and consume that which we want but also work doing that which we love to make the money in the first place.

But there is a massive relaxation that must take place before this is the norm. An individualization of our individualism. One that allows for growth, maturity, love, and beauty as well as spontaneity, youthful vigor, independence and grit. A massive slowing, breathing, deepening, and widening. The generation of a ridiculous faith.

We have started to make the culture and world we’ve always dreamed of—have started to become the people our ancestors have sacrificed for—but there’s lots and lots more to do. In a very real sense we must become three dimensional adults before we can raise three dimensional kids. It can happen in a second or it can take ten years.

I believe that nothing we have ever done will be as worth it.

Eventually, I believe that this delivery system we’ve built will be used to broadcast and enjoy loving content and culture worldwide. That we’ll listen to unheard voices and speak with new dignity. We will turn even more of our attention from the producers of the systems to the generators of the content. (And more from the generators of childish content to the producers of mature content). Quite literally, a smile on a dusty road somewhere in Africa will become as more valuable than a pair of fake breasts in Hollywood as it already is. And a pair or real breasts in Africa—well I won’t go there quite yet.


Love,

Eben