Optimism is a Moral Imperative

My husband gets credit for this awesome tagline. We were discussing the perilous possibilities of the future vis-a-vis the upcoming election while waiting in a line of cars for the drive-in last Saturday (my early bday present). While writing the "Impeachment" blog last week, literally mid-way through, I realized that even warning people about what COULD happen if we don't impeach Clownshoes right now is feeding the fear out there, and what we need to do more of is concentrate on the positive visualization thing. Hence, my positive visuals of Jenna Bush in a waitress uniform and Karl Rove getting cornholed in prison. :) (smiley emoticon face)
Bruce also summed up the whole metaphysics-quantum physics thing with an anecdote about a realization he had during a psychedelic experience: (according to polls, I've just lost about 30% of you. oh well.) Anything that can happen, does happen. It's the reality that you choose to live in that you live in. I'm not saying it's an entirely conscious choice, or that blame should be placed anywhere (get OUT of our heads you damn Puritans with your F-ing Providence!!)- because most of us, most of the time, feel like we're falling down the rabbit hole and that we were pushed.
But. Make no mistake, consciousness has real power. Recently I've come to believe that the major decisions we make and act upon do, in effect, create whole new worlds. Parallel universes, if you will. You either walk through this door, or that one. You marry this guy, or that guy. You forget about that and pursue a career. But somewhere out there is the "you" that made the other choice. This is what mystics and quantum physicists are talking about when they say The Universe is Full of Infinite Possibility. And at the same time, it is empty, with possibility.
(according to polls I've just lost another 20% of you.)
Right now we're all living in the universe of people who have made the decisions that they have made. Duh, right? It's a wacky, complex subject to explain, so books and movies make it easier. One set of science-fiction books I especially like on the subject is the "Hominids/Hybrids" series by Robert Sawyer, on the parallel universe where Neanderthals survived instead of us Homo Sapiens. As an anthro-geek I especially loved them, but I think anybody could get into them- and he does a great job of explaining the whole consciousness shift/parallel universe thing. It had me convinced, anyway. Some simpler/more fantastical ones are the movies "The Family Man," "Sliding Doors," and of course, "It's A Wonderful Life." Watch or read one of those if I've lost you already, and then come back.
Ok, everybody here? Cool. So it stands to reason, from what we've just learned and what we've known all our lives, that our future is a conscious choice. Nothing is "inevitable" (god how I hate that word!) and nothing is impossible. Given that, and now we know that we're in complete control of our futures, the logical and morally sound choice is to point all of our collective consciousnesses (is that really a word?) towards the positive. Allow yourself to imagine the best possible outcome of the upcoming election, the ensuing investigations of this criminal administration, and basically a future so bright (powered by solar energy) you gotta wear shades. That takes many different shapes for different people, so, unless you're a sociopath, go wild. :) For me it's being able to build my xeriscaping empire and remaking the business world with a new model that's socially inclusive, green to the 158th power, and revolutionary in that all "profits" are plowed back into the earth and the community. Also, I'm an award-winning filmmaker and writer. And not only will my 2 year old daughter NOT be a slave to the Chinese, she'll also get to pursue her abilities to their utmost, and possibly run for President someday, if she wants to. There are no more abused children, no more starving people, no more anyone without access to capital and clean water. Global warming has stopped, and we're starting to reverse its effects. The green technologies and localized businesses are thriving, and everyone is choosing to plow their profits back into the community, so that their livelihoods are sustainable for many generations to come.
Oh and we're also whizzing around in those cool hover-craft cubes that the Neanderthals have.
Why not?? I think all this is possible. The whiners may disagree, they're usually the first to whine, "oh you want the whole world to hold hands and sing Kumbaya." Um, no, I've always hated that song. I'm not a Utopianist, I'm an anthropologist, and I know we'll always have conflict in a world with this many people and limited resources. But if you use just a wee bit of your imagination, it's not hard to visualize a better, more sustainable way to solve those conflicts. Sure, it's easier to just go on doing things the way we've always done them, but that way will surely kill us. I realize that these entrenched habits are hard to break away from, but break away we must. As an anthropologist and all-around "aware" person, I know that the current way we live is unsustainable- so it must end, somehow. The question is, and I put this to all whiners who say "it can't happen, humanity will never change" do you want to do this the nice, civil way, or do you want to do this the hard way? We can perform our revolution at the voting box and make sure it's not stolen this time, or if they try and fuck with us again we can rise up and make them regret it. Either way, the patriarchy is going down. Right now I'm envisioning a non-violent end to all the lies and destruction, but I know there's quite a few people out there who can imagine only violence, because that's all they know- their imaginations have been starved nearly to death by the media, bad Steven Seagal flicks, and the "news" vampires which thrive on blood.
I'm not expecting Mr. Obama to be the perfect President to all people, but I am expecting him to be President, and to succeed in the monumental task of empowering us all to turn this country around. I know it will happen. Get on board and all the hard work and consciousness changing will be a lot easier to swallow. As the man himself has said a few times in answer to the question, "Can we do this? Yes we can!"
Or as Jesus just said to me, "Hey-all yeah!" (but he was all fired up after watching the Hillary speech. Go figure.) Tell me your dreams for the future with all the beautiful details in your responses, por favor. Por ejemplo, I'm already picturing the hemp/nomex gown I'll be wearing to accept my Oscar, and gathering quotes from various women/girls to use in my speech. Ridiculous? I think not!