Scientists have recently declared the dawn of the human-influenced age, the Anthropocene epoch. To put this new age into perspective, the Mesozoic era (the dinosaur age) lasted roughly 186 million years, and the Cenozoic era (the rise of mammals) has lasted 65 million years. The current Holocene epoch during which human civilization has developed and which has seen a more or less stable climate since the last ice age, spans just 12,000 years.
Each epoch or era is defined by global events which leave traces that are evident in future geological depositories. For example, the extinction of dinosaurs some 66 million years ago marks the end of the Mesozoic era. Scientists believe that the most striking evidence of the Anthropocene epoch is the persistence of radioactive elements from nuclear bomb tests. But this is only one of many results of human intervention. Other things that might become indications of this new epoch are plastic pollution in our waterways and oceans, aluminum and concrete particles, high levels of nitrogen and phosphate in soils as the result of artificial fertilizers, increasing ocean acidification, increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere caused by excessive fossil-fuel burning and mass extinctions of species on the earth. It is predicted that 75% of species will become extinct in the next few centuries if humans do not change their attitude and behavior towards the earth.
There is very little disagreement among scientists that we are heading towards a major disaster if we continue to exploit the earth as we have been, and that this disaster may include the mass extinction of human beings. Already the signs are very striking: excessive flooding especially of coastal areas due to the rise of the sea level; extreme weather with higher temperatures over land and in polar regions; increased numbers of droughts, cyclones and hurricanes; earlier leafing of trees and plants; changes in bird migrations and movements of species to higher altitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
It might be that the extinction of human beings is an inevitable event and if this is to be the case, then we will be just one of many evolutionary experiments that did not make it. After all, why should the extinction of human beings as creatures be any more catastrophic than the extinction in 2011 of the Eastern cougar that once lived in northeastern North America? What would be catastrophic is the loss of qualities that are unique to the human species such as self-awareness, the ability to contemplate the universe, to appreciate beauty, to love unconditionally and to pursue the truth. With our extinction all these attributes will disappear forever or until the evolutionary machinery can produce something similar to us in the future.
Assuming for the moment that the effect of global warming is still reversible and assuming further that preservation of human beings is a desirable outcome, the question is how can we achieve these things?
Although some people still argue that the way forward is to rely upon science in the hope that a solution to the ever-increasing warming of our planet will be discovered, this policy of wait-and-see may well turn out to have dire consequences. A more obvious answer, as suggested by many, is for us to stop polluting the environment, avoid being excessive and greedy, and to live more simply. Though this answer may sound simple and straightforward, it is increasingly difficult to follow since we are part of a consumerist machinery whose objective is never-ending growth and profit with no boundaries, completely ignoring the fact that the earth has only finite resources and continuous growth is not possible. Even our simple activities such as disposing of plastic bags, or driving and flying for our holidays contribute to climate change, though admittedly each individual contribution may not seem very significant.
How then is it possible to be less excessive? There are, as far as I know, two ways open to humanity at this juncture. The first one is by way of strict and restrictive laws that monitor and control human exploitation of the planet. Although this is welcome and in some instances very effective, it is not a sufficient measure. Obviously, laws can and will be broken and not all emerging economies of the world are willing to impose such laws.
The second option—which should be viewed as complementary to the introduction of protective measures to save the planet—requires a fundamental change in us. We need to change our attitude about the purpose of life: that we are not here to consume, accumulate and possess at the expense of the destruction of the planet and depriving future generations of a clean and habitable environment.
This change comes about through the realization that contentment is not achievable through consumption and possession of goods, for the simple reason that our appetite for consumption and possession can never be satisfied. As the Socratic saying goes: He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.
Generally speaking, contentment is a state wherein one is happy with who he or she is and what he or she possesses. We all tend to pursue in some form or another the state of contentment and happiness in life, and yet such a state cannot be achieved through consumption and possession of goods. How then is it possible to achieve contentment?
The Sufis' answer is that contentment is possible through unconditional love and kindness towards others. This approach may be counter-intuitive as most people believe contentment is achieved by taking steps to satisfy our own desires and wishes. How could loving-kindness and service to others result in contentment? Sufism is a practical school and the Sufis have said time and again that the only way to find out is by practicing loving-kindness. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.
Nevertheless, it is possible to point to some rationale for loving-kindness as the path towards contentment. The Sufi approach to contentment is based on the assumption that contentment occurs when we move away from our egotistical desires and our inherent sense of possessiveness. And one way to do this is by being unconditionally kind and loving towards others. Every act of kindness will distance us from our own egotistical tendencies and hence bring us closer to becoming more content.
For the Sufis, the path of unconditional loving-kindness leads to the truth with contentment being only a state one passes through. It requires constant awareness and self-sacrifice. For many this may not be possible. Contemporary life is hectic and demanding. We may not have the opportunity to express kindness at work or we may feel exhausted at the end of the day and want to relax in front of the TV and watch our favorite program or cook some food and get busy with many other things that may not involve kindness to others. We may feel we need time to ourselves in order to be rejuvenated and prepared for what comes next.
For the hectic lifestyle of the modern homo sapiens, the Sufis have prescribed a shortcut. The shortcut does not lead to enlightenment and the experience of truth, but it facilitates the experience of contentment. Such a shortcut is through the contemplation of our own mortality and the transitory nature of the world. The realization that we will die eventually, and that our existence in the history of the universe is too insignificant to be worth mentioning, focuses our mind on the preciousness of the fleeting moment, and this brings a sense of contentment.
Farid al-Din 'Attar (d.1221) in his discussion of contentment in the Conference of the Birds tells the story of a father who was presented with the corpse of his beautiful young son after the latter had fallen into a well. As the father finds himself in a state of utter grief, 'Attar turns to the reader with these words:
O wise traveler contemplate this: Where are Adam and all his descendants? Where are the particulars and universals? Where are the earth, the mountains and the heavens?
Where are angels, demons and kings? Where are those hundred thousand people who are buried in dust? Where are those numerous pure souls now? If you sift and refine whatever exists, Including both worlds and a hundred times more, When you are confronted with your own death, You will find nothing passes through your sieve.
Admittedly, pondering our own mortality may have the opposite effect for some people, leading them to pursue their desires for possession and consumption even more urgently. Such people are still persuaded by the idea that the path towards contentment is achievable through increased consumption.
To reach contentment, it is, therefore, not only our mortality we need to think about but also the fact that we have a debt and a duty to future generations and humanity in general. We were given the opportunity to pursue truth and happiness by others who came before us and we must ensure that those who come after us will have at least the same prospects.
We are at a juncture where we must realize that the way we live matters and our choices will have far-reaching consequences for our own survival and other forms of life on Earth. This realization alone should be enough to make us reflect on the idea that consumerism is not the right means by which to achieve contentment.
Scientists have recently declared the dawn of the human-influenced age, the Anthropocene epoch. To put this new age into perspective, the Mesozoic era (the dinosaur age) lasted roughly 186 million years, and the Cenozoic era (the rise of mammals) has lasted 65 million years. The current Holocene epoch during which human civilization has developed and which has seen a more or less stable climate since the last ice age, spans just 12,000 years.
Each epoch or era is defined by global events which leave traces that are evident in future geological depositories. For example, the extinction of dinosaurs some 66 million years ago marks the end of the Mesozoic era. Scientists believe that the most striking evidence of the Anthropocene epoch is the persistence of radioactive elements from nuclear bomb tests. But this is only one of many results of human intervention. Other things that might become indications of this new epoch are plastic pollution in our waterways and oceans, aluminum and concrete particles, high levels of nitrogen and phosphate in soils as the result of artificial fertilizers, increasing ocean acidification, increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere caused by excessive fossil-fuel burning and mass extinctions of species on the earth. It is predicted that 75% of species will become extinct in the next few centuries if humans do not change their attitude and behavior towards the earth.
There is very little disagreement among scientists that we are heading towards a major disaster if we continue to exploit the earth as we have been, and that this disaster may include the mass extinction of human beings. Already the signs are very striking: excessive flooding especially of coastal areas due to the rise of the sea level; extreme weather with higher temperatures over land and in polar regions; increased numbers of droughts, cyclones and hurricanes; earlier leafing of trees and plants; changes in bird migrations and movements of species to higher altitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
It might be that the extinction of human beings is an inevitable event and if this is to be the case, then we will be just one of many evolutionary experiments that did not make it. After all, why should the extinction of human beings as creatures be any more catastrophic than the extinction in 2011 of the Eastern cougar that once lived in northeastern North America? What would be catastrophic is the loss of qualities that are unique to the human species such as self-awareness, the ability to contemplate the universe, to appreciate beauty, to love unconditionally and to pursue the truth. With our extinction all these attributes will disappear forever or until the evolutionary machinery can produce something similar to us in the future.
Assuming for the moment that the effect of global warming is still reversible and assuming further that preservation of human beings is a desirable outcome, the question is how can we achieve these things?
Although some people still argue that the way forward is to rely upon science in the hope that a solution to the ever-increasing warming of our planet will be discovered, this policy of wait-and-see may well turn out to have dire consequences. A more obvious answer, as suggested by many, is for us to stop polluting the environment, avoid being excessive and greedy, and to live more simply. Though this answer may sound simple and straightforward, it is increasingly difficult to follow since we are part of a consumerist machinery whose objective is never-ending growth and profit with no boundaries, completely ignoring the fact that the earth has only finite resources and continuous growth is not possible. Even our simple activities such as disposing of plastic bags, or driving and flying for our holidays contribute to climate change, though admittedly each individual contribution may not seem very significant.
How then is it possible to be less excessive? There are, as far as I know, two ways open to humanity at this juncture. The first one is by way of strict and restrictive laws that monitor and control human exploitation of the planet. Although this is welcome and in some instances very effective, it is not a sufficient measure. Obviously, laws can and will be broken and not all emerging economies of the world are willing to impose such laws.
The second option—which should be viewed as complementary to the introduction of protective measures to save the planet—requires a fundamental change in us. We need to change our attitude about the purpose of life: that we are not here to consume, accumulate and possess at the expense of the destruction of the planet and depriving future generations of a clean and habitable environment.
This change comes about through the realization that contentment is not achievable through consumption and possession of goods, for the simple reason that our appetite for consumption and possession can never be satisfied. As the Socratic saying goes: He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.
Generally speaking, contentment is a state wherein one is happy with who he or she is and what he or she possesses. We all tend to pursue in some form or another the state of contentment and happiness in life, and yet such a state cannot be achieved through consumption and possession of goods. How then is it possible to achieve contentment?
The Sufis' answer is that contentment is possible through unconditional love and kindness towards others. This approach may be counter-intuitive as most people believe contentment is achieved by taking steps to satisfy our own desires and wishes. How could loving-kindness and service to others result in contentment? Sufism is a practical school and the Sufis have said time and again that the only way to find out is by practicing loving-kindness. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.
Nevertheless, it is possible to point to some rationale for loving-kindness as the path towards contentment. The Sufi approach to contentment is based on the assumption that contentment occurs when we move away from our egotistical desires and our inherent sense of possessiveness. And one way to do this is by being unconditionally kind and loving towards others. Every act of kindness will distance us from our own egotistical tendencies and hence bring us closer to becoming more content.
For the Sufis, the path of unconditional loving-kindness leads to the truth with contentment being only a state one passes through. It requires constant awareness and self-sacrifice. For many this may not be possible. Contemporary life is hectic and demanding. We may not have the opportunity to express kindness at work or we may feel exhausted at the end of the day and want to relax in front of the TV and watch our favorite program or cook some food and get busy with many other things that may not involve kindness to others. We may feel we need time to ourselves in order to be rejuvenated and prepared for what comes next.
For the hectic lifestyle of the modern homo sapiens, the Sufis have prescribed a shortcut. The shortcut does not lead to enlightenment and the experience of truth, but it facilitates the experience of contentment. Such a shortcut is through the contemplation of our own mortality and the transitory nature of the world. The realization that we will die eventually, and that our existence in the history of the universe is too insignificant to be worth mentioning, focuses our mind on the preciousness of the fleeting moment, and this brings a sense of contentment.
Farid al-Din 'Attar (d.1221) in his discussion of contentment in the Conference of the Birds tells the story of a father who was presented with the corpse of his beautiful young son after the latter had fallen into a well. As the father finds himself in a state of utter grief, 'Attar turns to the reader with these words:
O wise traveler contemplate this: Where are Adam and all his descendants? Where are the particulars and universals? Where are the earth, the mountains and the heavens?
Where are angels, demons and kings? Where are those hundred thousand people who are buried in dust? Where are those numerous pure souls now? If you sift and refine whatever exists, Including both worlds and a hundred times more, When you are confronted with your own death, You will find nothing passes through your sieve.
Admittedly, pondering our own mortality may have the opposite effect for some people, leading them to pursue their desires for possession and consumption even more urgently. Such people are still persuaded by the idea that the path towards contentment is achievable through increased consumption.
To reach contentment, it is, therefore, not only our mortality we need to think about but also the fact that we have a debt and a duty to future generations and humanity in general. We were given the opportunity to pursue truth and happiness by others who came before us and we must ensure that those who come after us will have at least the same prospects.
We are at a juncture where we must realize that the way we live matters and our choices will have far-reaching consequences for our own survival and other forms of life on Earth. This realization alone should be enough to make us reflect on the idea that consumerism is not the right means by which to achieve contentment.
