The future is not merely what happens tomorrow—that’s just the mechanics of the present. For humanity, the future is an entirely different experience. Over the past 2,000 years, we have developed the mechanics of the present—technology and the conditions of our existence—without a parallel evolution of what it means to be human.
Ancient Greek philosophy, spanning from the seventh century B.C. to the beginning of the Roman Empire in the first century A.D., birthed five great traditions: Platonism, Aristotelianism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism. But are we any more human than the people of Greece 3,000 years ago? Throughout history, we have devoted ourselves to developing external, often inhuman, matters: material things, social constructs, logistical systems, and political power struggles. We’ve been to the moon, but do we truly register the humanity of that experience? Many astronauts return transformed, with a renewed vision of our shared existence. Ron Garan, for instance, spoke of humanity living a “Big Lie” in his video, “I Went to Space and Discovered an Enormous Lie.”
Now, we’ve become so adept at shaping the present that we may have discovered a way to do it without humans at all. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a machine that learns from what is not human, freeing us from countless mechanical tasks. We’ve reached a point where we can liberate ourselves from “natural and repetitive” conditioning and enter the space of free energy—the space of profound aspiration and the true future.
The future is about making a leap in our humanity, pulling us toward an unknown direction where we become better human beings, more creative, and more capable of transforming present conditions.
What causes change within us? Is love a uniquely human experience? How do each of us develop love, and how do we expand it? I’m not talking about animal love, love for a nation, love for Jesus, or love for nature. I’m speaking of Love with a capital L—the love for humanity itself. Here’s the real question: Are you capable of expanding the unconditional love you have for your children and family to include the rest of humanity?
Our future depends on your answer. If your answer is no, then everything happening today—wars, violence, and the destruction targeting the end of human experience—makes sense. But if your answer is yes, you’ve just defined your future: to work on expanding your unconditional love for humanity, to develop and transform the personal and social conditioning of our present situation, and to help move our pre-history society towards becoming the first true human civilization. And my friend, there is no better life than that.