Background
A new society is brewing
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For the first time in her life, Joy is awakened by the sound of a rooster crowing the arrival of a new dawn. As the rooster repeats its joyous greeting of sunlight, she giggles as she thinks about having no snooze button on this alarm. She prepares herself for the day and walks outside her unit. It's a gorgeous sunny morning with only a few puffy, cotton-ball clouds in a perfectly blue sky. She sighs and takes a deep breath of fresh air just as Adam exits from his quarters.
"Adam, good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"I was too excited to have a solid sleep, but I'm rested enough. Did you hear the rooster?"
"Yeah, what a wonderful way to wake up. Adam, stop and take a deep breath. I think I just experienced what clean air smells like."
"Even breathing is a joy here. There's no street noises, no airplanes above, no hustle-bustle of rush hour and no skyscrapers. Let's get to the community kitchen. Mom, show us the way to the kitchen, please."
Adam looks down at his wrist communicator and sees an arrowhead appear on the small screen, pointing towards the community and slightly to the right from the couple's position. They follow the arrow's direction and enter a large door marked 'Mess Hall' and immediately experience the aroma of eggs frying. They scan the room and see Running Bear already seated at a table near a large picture window.
"Joy, Adam, come and sit with us. I want to introduce you to your guide for the day."
They cross the room and sit down opposite the two men. Their guide appears to be about the same age as Adam and has the look of a seasoned, mature man. If Michelangelo were to carve the facial wrinkles of wisdom, he probably would have chosen this man as his model.
"Good morning Joy and Adam. I'm Walter. Are you hungry?"
"Yes! And Yes!"
"The most-ordered breakfast here is Mrs. Jones' spinach and cheese omelet and fresh hash browns. How does that sound?"
"Great!"
Walter raises his wrist to his lips: "Four Jones Special to table 6, please, with orange juice and water."
Running Bear: "Walter has been here for nearly four years now. He probably knows more than any of us about the total community, except for Mom. Mom may know more about the operation and how to keep it in balance, but our children still rely on getting wisdom from experienced elders. Walter is a respected elder and a true Utopian."
Within minutes, two teenagers bring the order to the table and the quartet begins to eat their breakfast. The freshness of the food is apparent and the taste is divine. No Michelin restaurant could do better. The meal soon disappears from their plates and, within seconds, the teenagers return to clear the table. Walter speaks:
"There are some basic rules all Utopians are expected to follow. To live in an egalitarian society, we have to realize that no one person is better than, nor worse than, any other member. We are all born with talents and abilities that will differ, but that with proper communication, cooperation and collaboration, we can achieve any goal as a group.
"The community provides food, shelter and clothing to all its inhabitants. In return, each member is expected to participate in the maintenance of the community grounds, the caring for those who need help, the preservation of Mother Earth's beauty and the development of human potential. Beyond the physical needs of our animal body is the need to love and be loved, to express ourselves without fear of persecution or judgment, and to appreciate our spiritual connection to a greater power. Those running the show outside this community have tremendous power of a physical nature, but that will never vanquish the spiritual power that exists in all life on this earth. The spirit is founded in truth and truth is not subject to evaluation. It simply is what it is."
"Walter, how does one know he is a Utopian?" asks Joy.
"Primarily self-control and self-government, Joy. People are afraid, very much afraid of those who know themselves. Utopians have a certain power, a certain aura and a certain magnetism, a charisma that can rescue alive, young people from traditional mind imprisonment.
"The Utopian cannot be enslaved - that is the difficulty for the slave masters to overcome - and he cannot be imprisoned. Every genius who has known something of the inner light of consciousness is bound to be a little difficult to be absorbed; he is going to be an upsetting force. The masses don't want to be disturbed, even though they may be in misery. They are in misery, but they are accustomed to the misery and anyone who is not as miserable as they are looks like a stranger.
"The Utopian is the greatest danger to the world's Fascist system; he does not seem to belong to anybody. No organization confines him, no community, no society nor nation. All true Utopians communicate with each other's unifying and kindred spirit. They see themselves in everyone else. Whereas the establishment rules the masses by using a 'divide and conquer' methodology, Utopians focus on unity.
"Whether he is wealthy or poor, the Utopian is captain of his ship and master of his fate because he has broken the chains of society's repressive conditioning and opinions. He has formed himself by embracing all the colors of the rainbow, emerging from the dark and formless roots of his unconscious past and growing wings to fly into the sky. His very way of being is rebellious - not because he is fighting against anybody or anything, but because he has discovered his own true nature and is determined to live in accordance with it. The eagle is his spirit animal, a messenger between earth and sky.
"The Utopian challenges all people to be courageous enough to take responsibility for who and what we are and to live according to truth and truth alone."
"That's not what is being taught in public schools," offers Adam.
"Nor in the average home," adds Joy.
Walter: "There is nothing we behold that exists anywhere but in our own mind. Our physical sensations are interpreted by the brain as images that call for our attention. There is no "Out There." What we "see" is the reflection of what we can understand while in our human form. We are always looking at a mirror.
"That mirror also contains the Collective Consciousness that is created by various groups. If we do not seek to find more meaning in that consciousness, we will remain ignorant. It is our responsibility to grow our understanding. No one else can do it for us; no one else can judge us; no one else is responsible for what we do.
"In that Collective Consciousness, there are many other thoughts than the ones we create. Some are true, some are partially true, and others are downright lies. If we want to clear our mind to "see" more truth, we must take responsibility to remove lies and clarify partial truths. Truth doesn't care whether or not we humans can recognize it. It just is. Each one of us is responsible for the amount of truth we can perceive.
"Much of that Collective Consciousness contains traditions, superstitions, and thoughts that may have served a purpose in the past but no longer apply to a literate society. When we shun responsibility and hand our freedom to politicians, corporations or religions, we should admit we are relinquishing our own consciousness and critical thinking capability. The slave masters are more than willing to use us to create a better life for themselves. It is only by waking up and paying attention to the contents of our mirror that we can be free again.
"Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom. That's why Utopia is so necessary. Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.
"In truth, nothing is unnatural. The Supernatural, miracles, fantasies and the like do not exist in truth. The events that we assign to those categories are simply misunderstood or not understood at all. They may be fun to watch on television and the movie houses, but they only represent mental pap and useless escapism.
"We teach our children to become what they were born to be. We tell them that wherever they are, be there totally. If they find their here and now intolerable and it makes them unhappy, they have three options: remove themselves from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If they want to take responsibility for their life, they must choose one of those three options, and they must choose now. Then accept the consequences. The only bad decision is indecision."
"That's fabulous," say Adam.
"Are you ready to stroll the grounds?"
"Absolutely," Joy answers, "I'm enjoying this so much, I have no idea what time it is; do you, Walter?"
"We actually took John Lennon's "live for today" literally. There are no clocks or calendars in Utopia. We let Mom assign tasks as needed and we all stay happy living in the moment. There is no greater feeling for some of our new arrivals than experiencing life without time pressure."
"How do you get along without calendars?"
"Calendars are great for accountants and creating holidays that enrich corporate pockets. Every day here is special and contains all holidays within it. No punch clocks, no taxes, no bills and no government. If that's not a great reason for having a perpetual holiday spirit, I wouldn't know what is. We let Mother Earth dictate our circadian rhythms and harmonize our actions to adapt to her changing seasons, just like all her existing life forms already do. Let me show you some of our facilities."
