One of the best things in life, in my opinion, is the pleasure of authentic food in its authentic place; like a crusty golden fish and chips in a pub in London, a set of Xiao Long Bao in Shanghai, a Dosa in Chennai, or a plate of buffalo chicken wings in a blues bar somewhere in the USA. The food is only a part of it. More than the food is the feelings of being in a cultural space that make the food that much better. To top it all, is the company of the local people who share their time with me.
Delicious food from every part of the world is one of the most clear evidence of the best of humanity. It demonstrates our ability to create something beautiful. It highlights our common need for nourishment and enjoyment. It facilitates hospitality, togetherness and friendship. It enhances life experience. It symbolizes sharing, generosity and peace. It is, in my view, a convincing example that human beings are truly capable of being wonderful.
That is why it is more than sad to think about the state of the world. To be clear, I am not talking about a contagious virus that is currently still at the top of most people's attention. I am talking about how over so many centuries of our modern history, humanity has created a deeply flawed system that brings out the worst of our human characters. The state of the world is bad not because humans are bad, but because we are following a very bad system that we have created for ourselves.
There is no shortage of news and analyses that articulate the dire state of the world. Inequality, poverty, pollution, hunger, wars, trade wars, nuclear disaster, nuclear arms race, territorial dispute, refugee crisis. Those are just examples from a long list of many more; and words are inadequate to express the depth of the problems. All of them are in a worse state today than it was yesterday, and unless there is a systemic change done today, it will only get worse tomorrow. All of the problems mentioned above has not include the bigger than life crisis of climate change. Humanity is not in a good state. If humanity is represented by a single person, this person is not only gravely ill with lung, heart, skin kidney and liver disorder, he also has severe delusion, memory distortion and obsessive compulsive behavior. He is rapidly and alarmingly becoming a hazard to himself and other beings.
How did humanity arrive to this point?
For the sake of this discussion let's create a person who represents humanity and call him by his nick name, Man.
Man was a gifted creature. He was born into an abundant world with clean air to breathe and self rejuvenating food supply. He has a strong and highly sophisticated body and clear and robust mind. As he experienced life he learned about pleasure and pain, and he realized that those sensations are both rather interesting and he wanted to experience more.
Over many years, Man created a habit for himself. He used his mind to enhance his experience. Over time he invented tools and methods to be able to do more, make more, take more in a shorter amount of time. He was able to travel more distance, exploit more resources that the earth has to offer. He was convinced after so many years of growing bigger and faster, that he is the best, most powerful creature on the planet. He mindlessly tear apart his environment in order to satisfy his growing desire for more things. He even killed other creatures just for his own entertainment.
As he carry on this habit through the years, he started to feel some discomfort. He seemed to need to consume more and more things just to feel ok. The air he breathe did not seem to be as comfortable as before, the soil is not as fertile, and the choices of enjoyment seem to be diminishing slowly but surely. At first, he thought it was a fluke and things will come back to normal. But things only get worse each day, to the point that the discomfort becomes a dominant sensation in his life. The discomfort bothered him more and more that he was unable to think clearly anymore. His body is in pain. His muscles are stiff, his eyes are blurry, his heart pounds irregularly, his lungs heaves heavily. Panic began to seep in. He began to to blame the weather, the air, the water and all the creatures around him. He has forgotten the feeling of comfort that he used to know, and he began to think that the world is a very difficult place to live. He kept telling himself that the discomfort is just a fact of life. Man became angrier, more irritable and increasingly destructive to himself and his environment.
Throughout his life, the world around him has been trying to send him a message. When he discovered the black gold underground, he took them out greedily while much of the waste spilled over to the sea. He did not clean up after them and he found out many years later that many of the fish and birds that he used to see are dead because of it. When he discovered nuclear power, he did not bother to think about how to contain and diffuse the radioactive waste. The radioactive waste has leaked several times and he realized it has made some places inhabitable and affected his health. When he discovered how to make plastic, he used it for everything and trash its waste liberally without care. After several years he discovered that the trash has made his backyard look like a junkyard and he does not know how to remove them. When he cut the trees recklessly, he never bothered to replant new ones. He found out later that the earth gets hotter, the soil gets dryer and he was unable to enjoy the fruits that he used to enjoy. The environment he lived in are crying for help, and the more he ignored it, the worse he became.
A little bird has been chirping around him for many days lately. It was trying to tell him something, but Man was too preoccupied with self pity. The bird was trying to tell him a simple reminder. Stop taking for a while and start giving. Man was born with such abundance and strength not only so that he can enjoy them, but also so that he can maintain them. Over the years, Man has created a habit of taking with no regards to the responsibility of replenishing what he has taken. The bird tried to remind him, that Man was not born bad, but he is facing the consequences of following a bad habit for many, many years. The bird tried to tell him, that the more he take the poorer he become.
Man, in the middle of his severe pain and discomfort, is struggling to accept that he is facing a monumental choice. If he chooses to stay with his habit, more pain and suffering will ensue to the point that death maybe a better outcome. If he chooses to create a new habit that restore the balance of taking and giving, he will give himself a chance to return to a comfortable life that he was able to enjoy. The consequences of the two choices are clear as the sun. The choice that Man will make, on the other hand, is as murky as ever.
