I’ve had a number of conversations lately about movement, progress, stagnation and time. I think after two years of pandemic, which caused an absolute shake-up to all our status quo, go-go routines, people finally seem ready to figure out what the “new normal” is going to be. The problem is, many of us and our established institutions are still stuck in the pre-pandemic paradigm, trying to solve yesterday’s problems and not clearly seeing HOW MUCH has changed.

Now that’s not entirely true… Some people do realize how much has changed and it FREAKS THEM THE HELL OUT! All they want in the world is to go back in time, to an era where they could feel safe, where they didn’t experience the “problems” they currently have and when they didn’t feel so manipulated by the systems around them. The thing is, that time didn’t actually exist; it was an illusion. And we cannot move backwards; time (to the extent that it exists other than as a construct to prop up capitalist production of goods and services) only flows one way. You have two choices: do you swim with the tide, or against it?

Of course you can choose to not move, to disengage (as I know I have done in different compartments of my life), to cling to certain things or situations for fear of loss, but each of those actions will inevitably yield a less-than-optimal outcome for all. If you are holding on to a space or time or concept, you are fighting against the tide, the natural flow of the world and its energy. Energy never stagnates; it is always moving, waxing, waning, like phases of the moon. The more we can work with and harness that flow in our daily lives, especially in work, the better off we will be.

As anyone who lives near the ocean will tell you, you have to watch the waves for quite a bit of time before jumping straight in. You gage the mood of the ocean, experience how it looks and sounds, lest you get surprised by a current, undertow or sneaker wave if you were to jump straight in. Life is also like this. You have to observe and experience the flow around you before you decide what, where and how to jump into something new. The ocean shows patterns, but it is never the same from one day to the next.

And our world is never the same either. Energy is flowing. The strife we are experiencing in our political realm as well as throughout the world is a function of too many who have the power to do so, not letting go, not passing along, but rather hoarding the energy/power they have accumulated. Because political and economic energy is all currency really is. America has a large burden of being THE superpower and because we have not been adequately challenged until recently, we are vulnerable to attack. A smartly and sharply pointed one will absolutely topple the empire, especially when half of the country’s population seems to believe there is a completely different fight going on. We cannot continue to project strength without investing in our own strength at home. This means setting a sensible tax policy that is intended to provide enough money for the government itself to perform its functions as well as it can AND to invest in our human infrastructure. We have not taken care of setting up and maintaining the systems that enable our people to thrive in whatever way they choose. This is a no-brainer! Sadly, people who don’t see this coming have the power, and no brains.

We MUST redistribute wealth for the good of the country. We MUST tax the rich, and the corporations that are taking and hoarding economic energy. Then we MUST be creative and as nimble as possible in thinking of new and innovative ways to help our country continue to lead the world, not through war and domination, but through investment and openness. We must show the way to the future through a reinvigorated economy, integrated with the needs of world governments, the environment and the flow of energy. We must decide to move with the tide, not against it, or the tide will take us all down. All of humanity.