I recently watched World War Z – that movie starring Brad Pitt you might’ve been seeing ads for everywhere.
If you haven’t seen the film, it’s about an out-of-control virus that turns its host into a bloodthirsty zombie. Suddenly you’re alive, dead, then a flesh-eating monster… all in about 10 seconds flat. (Ah, Hollywood.)
While I did enjoy the film, a part of me let out a hybrid yawn/eyeroll. I wondered:
How many more movies are going to be made about nasty viruses, bacteria, pathogens and deadly diseases that turn people into zombies?
I mean, come on. Contagion, Outbreak, Children of Men, Resident Evil, Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later… and those are just the titles that spring to mind instantly. Nearly all of them begin the same way: with a foolhardy research team/evil corporation creating a disease/chemical weapon that quickly spirals out of control.
As I walked out of the movie theater, aware of the cliches I’d just watched unfold, I wondered: what would I love to see, read, or hear that would excite and inspire my whole being?
Here are a few ideas that come to mind:
1. A new virus is discovered that infects its victim with miraculous health and emotional wellbeing. Hello Golden Age!
2. An innovation that recycles radioactive waste into clean energy, and is made available for free to one and all. Farewell oil dependency and radiation side effects.
3. Religious leaders dismantle their churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and religious orders returning the lands, artifacts and accumulated wealth back to the people. Just for fun.
4. A mass awakening of consciousness allows for new sets of values and innovations that serve the planet holistically. Utopia in the making.
5. The “Assembler” is invented (think of it as a molecular manufacturer, like the replicators on Star Trek. It can make anything from hot cups of Earl Grey tea to new shoes!) and makes famine, disease and scarcity a thing of the past. Thanks Ray Kurzweil for introducing this idea! A real game changer.
6. We discover how to tap into unused areas of our brains to utilize superhuman capacities; like communication with animals, or even the ability to photosynthesize. New worlds unfold.
7 Humanity finds new a new way to harness the speed of thought, and uses it to travel across time and space. New universes to explore.
8. We finally learn how to be in more than one place at a time. Multitasking at its finest!
9. Archaeologists uncover several “lost civilizations”, including Atlantis, something titillating in the Gobi desert and perhaps something on Mars! A rewriting of our history.
11. More female world leaders embodying integral politics, and leading our planet in a new, nurturing direction. Who wouldn’t like to see a bit of that unfold?
12. The isolating of an immortality gene suddenly makes every man, woman, and child time rich. How would we choose to live, I wonder?
13. Exponential learning in the areas of wisdom, sciences, arts, languages, communications, transportation nurture invention in all areas of life. A second renaissance arrives.
14. People finally elect leaders who choose to dismantle weapons of mass and chemical destruction. Finally.
15. Love is experienced as ever-present, everywhere, and by everyone! Heaven on earth.
I know some of the above ideas seem plausible, while others are more fantastical. But you see, it matters not to me.
Because by sharing these musings, I am recognizing and responding to a yearning within me. Welling up from the deepest curves of my soul, it says:
“We are here to enjoy life….that Utopia is not just not for unicorns – it is there on the map for us to discover.”
The only question is… are we willing to go on a quest like that?
Now, here’s a fun little query just for you:
Let’s say you were newly in charge of the world and could make grand scale changes:
Would you switch out struggle, drama, and tension for a new universe of ease, contentment, and infinite possibilities? What new upgrades would you introduce for humanity?
What would you like to see, hear, or read about? Share your thoughts in the comments below, or step over to my Facebook page and let ‘er rip! Who knows: you might just inspire the next great freedom.