I read today...

I read today, and found that there are people out there who still believe that we are headed toward a higher consciousness, and I was amazed anyone could still think that.  Then I started thinking about why I didn't believe that was true anymore.  I know I certainly used to think that.  Then it hit me- that there seems to be a growing distance between what is true for an individual, and what is true for a group of people.  So perhaps "we" are not headed for higher consiousness, but the door is wide open for the individual.

I think this is a time when the individual is particularly primed for higher understanding and self-knowledge, but collectively, we may actually be going backwards.  Our culture, our identity, and especially the things we value are getting more petty, fleeting, and shallow seemingly every day.  For the individual, this is a very trying time.  I swear, I can almost hear people crying out from the inside in their pain, their dissatisfaction, and their generally being fed-up with this spiritually dead culture we've insulated ourselves into.  For the person who is self-aware enough, this dissatisfaction can lead to asking "why?", and thus to personal growth. 

Collectively, all I can tell you is how I feel about it.  This cultural depression has been affecting me very negatively.  With each year for the last couple, I've found it harder and harder to shake off the "what's the point" feeling that I get every time I listen to the news (which I frequently go out of my way to avoid), or even to the conversations I hear around me.  I've been trying to shut it out and simply focus on my life, and what I need to do while I'm here, but still it gets harder.  As a group, we're headed for something- a crisis, I feel- and the anxiety of that looming thing is palpable.  Perhaps I should learn not to fear it, but embrace it.  God knows our way of thinking needs a change.  And as they say, crises precipitate change.