The Hopeless Conclusion in Context.
From The Oxford: “Hopelessness”: Having no expectation of good or success : Not susceptible to remedy or cure: Doctors say his condition is hopeless. incapable of redemption or improvement.
Clearly any sense of Hopelessness is linked to an acute frustration regarding either, real or perceived, barriers preventing the pursuit of some Desired End Goal:
That, either a Goal of achieving a desired Success, or a Goal of preventing an undesired ‘miserable state’.
The ‘State of ‘Hopelessness’ coming about in the realization (truth) that The Goal has ‘now’ become ‘Impossible to achieve’.
So, it’s a personal state, relating to either or both, of the above type goals, to which one is personally ‘attached’. This could be both in an individual or Team context.
Hopeless in my context of our Global Climate Change Problem, is related to the collective Pursuit Goal of a collective Goal.
Given that Climate Change is a global problem that collective is necessarily, All Humanity. The Goal being achieving continued Humanity Success or preventing Humanity misery or demise.
From my experience, at this point, many lose interest as the context of ‘Humanity’ seems so vast and diverse, and far away from their parochial local community belonging interests. Yet it is this same loss of interest happening globally that is contributing to my Hopeless conclusion!
Maybe in that lack of interest, is rather evidence of the subconscious acceptance of my Hopeless conclusion?
As maybe a challenge to the core of some readers: In my experience rather than providing freedom, this ‘subconscious denial’ will ultimately surface in feelings of selfishness, guilt and betrayal, as ‘our voyage’ continues to unravel more inconvenient truths. It also begs the answer to the question:
Is Success for Some, yet Failure for All, really Success for the Some?
Climate Change and this ‘Hopeless’ discussion puts the spotlight on the above, probably like has never happened in the history of Humanity before. I have found that his unique time in Humanity’s history can be used for valuable personal exploration of really what it is to be Human, and what really is Life Success? It all depends how one values one’s finite life, and what is truly important?
As I am a human and thus part of Humanity, this brings up a whole host of Belonging, ‘Moral’, and Ethical contexts, that aren’t for here, but are core to dealing with our Climate Tragedy, which is clearly, an ‘All Humanity’ problem.
Back to the ‘Goal of Success’ side of Hopelessness pursuit:
The definition of ‘Success for Humanity’ that I have used is what most almost every person I have asked, agree ‘should be’ the “Non-negotiable, (minimum) Success for Humanity”:
That being for all of us, living beings to live within One Planet’s Bio- regenerative resources.
If we humans did that or had been doing that, we would have no Climate Crisis today: The future for generations to come would look as bright as it would have looked for us, and as bright as it did for those gone by. Ie There would be no need for a ‘Misery prevention’ Goal, nor a fear that it may be needed in the future! The Success Goal above, solves it ALL!
This based on a seemingly profound yet surely fundamental basis for Human Life: The above ‘Success’ would necessarily imply that Humanity is collectively ‘On Purpose’. Importantly, that in both a present, and future inter-generational, Success context.
Surely, this giving the THE Purpose of pro-creation and evolutionary development a context of Real Human Success, and one of true Beyond Human, higher context Purpose??
The latter because we would be a part of The Nature Team, not in conflict with it, like we are massively today!
Yet, right from the outset of One Point Zero, I have been told that, THAT Goal of Success, albeit the absolute right one, is an “impossible one”, and without actually stating it, in all of their demeanor they confirm it is a Hopeless pursuit!
While I knew it was an extremely challenging Goal, my own personal life transformation had confirmed that it was entirely possible. Further, having been both sides of the transformational ‘divide’. I could see what was needed, and with real hope, and a seemingly inspiring vision for Humanity, I pushed on.
For five years now, I haven’t dropped THAT Goal, as I believe without it, humans collectively are contravening the ‘Laws of Nature’, and so then we will always only be pursuing a Hopeless goal of avoiding Misery / Extinction, linked to a Success that is in permanent conflict with Nature.
My Hopelessness conclusion as in finally arriving at my truth that the Pursuit of that Success goal is a Hopeless Pursuit. The Nine Decoys and what follows in explanation later will provide the ‘justification’ for my position.
Say one accepts that the Success above is not The Goal, but The Goal is some lower bar, Success. One more ‘realistic’ and easier to achieve?
Any lower goal defies the fundamental Laws of Nature, and hence conditions for intergenerational sustainable Human life on the Planet.
By definition, that means Humans will always be in conflict with Nature, and rather than that being a Goal of Success, at best it will be like collectively accepting living as an always unhealthy human. Moving between some sense of normality to sickness, constantly needing medication and medical care close by. The Goal becomes one of preventing Misery. (Rather than striving for Success. Ie Preventing terminal sickness and Extinction. At best this is an undesired, always precarious situation. At worst it is a rapid and uncontrolled downward spiral to the terminal illness and ultimate demise.
Because of the above, lowering of the bar, almost all the Climate Change efforts today, have in action, moved away from a Goal of Success to the above, desperate Goal of Preventing Misery. Ie Extinction. The real problem is that most see this still as a Success Goal!
In fact, as ‘our voyage’ moves into the Climate Tragedy stage, and the difficult acceptance of our Terminal Condition, this ‘Success’ bar is dropping further: From the Preventing of Misery to one of the Managing of Misery. This then akin to one of palliative care to minimize the journey of misery, associated with our accepted collective, Terminal Illness.
This all when there ‘was’ a Success that could have avoided this, yet it is now one of Hopeless pursuit.
Clearly, my Hopelessness conclusion, is linked to my view of that Hopelessness for our collective in the collective Goal pursuit outlined above. That not being a Hopelessness for ME personally in my own life purpose, as an individual member of the collective.
However because we are inextricably part of All Humanity, and the Goal is such a fundamental Human Purpose related Goal, it is only to be expected there will ‘degrees of personal hopelessness’ that each of us will have to deal with as this inconvenient Collective reality is internalized.
Our individual responses will be many and diverse!
With One Point Zero having been my life quest for more than five years now, I have my own unique degree of ‘personal hopelessness’ context attached to the collective conclusion.
I have had to ask myself: ‘Was Worrying about Humanity’, and taking on a minor, Team Humanity ‘leadership’ role, ultimately ‘stupid’?!
On deep reflection I see how in experiencing the necessary personal value shift from Freedom to Fairness, made me a more wholesome human, Living the role of a team member has brought huge clarity of what THE Problem really IS, and personal growth in understanding existential context challenges that those of us from ‘developed’ nations, will face.
Feeling what it is really like living a ‘One Point Zero’ life, has given me an inner power that enables to really ‘know what I am talking about’, rather than just visualize, what could BE?
Most importantly having to deal with my Hopeless conclusion has provided huge freedom to establish healthy relationships with all those inconvenient truths, I found.
Publicly stating, ‘The Hopeless’ conclusion, was both a confirmation of this holistic freedom, and also sharing a desire to help ‘our voyage’, versus staying quiet in public denial that all is OK, when I have a different, and well-founded truth.
In trying to convey the Truth to Power to Freedom journey I have taken, I share Michael Foucault’s description of a Parrhesiasts: The ultimate Truth Explorers / Tellers. Read here.
I now know clearly where my ‘good citizen’ moral / ethical lines are for the unfolding voyage. I know that those lines won’t compromise my personal freedom, yet also be ‘defensible’ in our palliative care journey. In this freedom I also see how can unashamedly help others confront the Hopelessness and find their own freedom, without feeling like I’m a committing treason or being a traitor to ‘Team Humanity’.
The degree of personal burden of Hopelessness one has to deal with depends on many elements, but clearly age is significant,: Both in the ease in which the Hopelessness is accepted as ‘Fact’, and then the extent to which accepting the Hopelessness, impacts of one’s individual’s sense of personal Hope and Hopelessness. This will determine whether one embraces the Hopelessness or denies it?
It’s ‘probably’ easier for David Attenborough (certainly Donald Trump!) to declare a Hopeless situation than it is for Greta Thunberg! I admire Greta, and well Sir David, is being Sir David
Our Climate voyage is already a source of Intergenerational conflict, and one can expect this to escalate rapidly as truths unravel and more and more people arrive at the Hopeless conclusion. And then have to deal with their unique ‘personal hopeless’, context. This is all about Truth to Power and then what one does with the power. Personal hopelessness is not an option!
This being one of the reasons why I am sharing my voyage to Truth, so one can see the power and freedom, in being able to proactively prepare for what could be an increasingly, ‘socially volatile’, future.
Clearly, being centrally complicit in the root cause truth of our disease and then flippantly claiming the situation is “Hopeless” from one of one’s palatial retirement mansions, could be fraught with moral and team humanity issues!! Never mind the inevitable internal guilt, and uneasy soul gyrations involved.
Yet once again, we are all unique humans with all very different Beliefs and Values, so will respond to the inevitable challenges in the way that best serves those beliefs and values. That unless we use this special time to question those very Beliefs and Values, and use a New more enlightened Beliefs and Values, response!
That’s how I have dealt with the ‘Misery of Hopelessness’, for that’s the path of Truth to Freedom and then true Power!
PS: There are also questions relating to all the practical issues of what life ahead will be like in the context of The Hopeless conclusion. I see these as relating to dealing with the consequences that will have to be dealt with. Rather than issues of dealing with the mindset Hopelessness, and how we will deal these consequences in spirit. That’s what the above is only about
In Truth to Power one eliminates the fear of these consequences. Yet not in ignorant denial of the truths, and it’s the different mindset that makes it easy to deal with consequences. My experiences show that the more challenging the consequences are the better the truth prepares one to deal with them.