Place: New York City
Work field: Activist, writer at TheRules.org
Activity: Sunday morning meditation at Kadampa Meditation Center . It was a great place to take a break from the Manhattan madness, breathe, and re-focus!
" Hope lies in human nature. Capitalism goes against the grain of human nature; it is focused almost exclusively on extrinsic, material values which are all about getting power and status for ourselves. By contrast, mature love, spiritual growth, a world of beauty... These are intrinsic, sometimes called"bigger than self" values. Everyone has them, and we find them inherently satisfying to pursue in our daily, intimate lives. But the system does not value them. It treats them as irrelevant and demands we all orient our lives around the selfish 'me me me' values. This is not true to human nature because it reduces us to only our desires to have and consume, and scoffs at things like empathy and care for others. Just look at how much advertising it takes to keep us dissatisfied enough with ourselves and our situation to be forever shopping! And it's certainly not sustainable because it powers our endless need to extract from the earth, and each other. If we can remember some of those intrinsic values at a societal level and reconnect them into the system, there is hope. "
"I strive to be the best, most effective person that I can be. To blossom in my own, authentic self is the best way that I can help others."
Click here for more information on the project Hello, Stranger