Caring Is the Key

For all you Gary V. fans out there -- I just love this clip of him giving a Mom advice about how to protect her 9 year old from the dangers of the internet. Before I get into his reply, do you notice that look on his face? That's the look of a person who feels totally fulfilled for giving from the heart, as one parent to another. As one human to another. This is the kind of fuel we'll need for the new era.

He told the Mom that this is a topic he is most passionate about, and explained that he also has a 13 year old daughter. I love how invested he was in this brief interaction, and it wasn't about the camera. He genuinely wanted to help her.

Gary's advice was mainly around building a child's inner self-esteem so they would not be insecure enough to succumb to online dangers. That sense of inner security is a wonderful thing to have and not so easy to come by. It's a full time job for parents to create the right environment that would provide such a deep sense of security in today's world.

I'd like to add to what he told her, that the most important skill we can provide our kids with - and actually adults too of course - is to learn to care for others. Because doing that removes the intense pressure we always apply to ourselves.

What Are We Afraid Of?

The more chaotic the world becomes, the more stressed and anxious we become as well.

Insecurity about the future is causing trepidation.

You would think that all our progress should have made us more confident. But our development has brought with it a bunch of new dangers that we have no idea how to cope with.

In the past, hazards were just as formidable, if not more so, and truly existential. For the cavepeople, for example, venturing out of the cave meant being vulnerable to attacks by predators. But fear didn't cause panic because people knew the dangers and how to protect themselves from them. Today, countless elements and factors affect our lives and the lives of our loved ones, and we cannot know them all, cannot see them coming, and do not know how to overcome them. Naturally, this puts us in a state of constant pressure and anxiety.

Another thing to take into account is that the more we evolve, the more self-centered we become. Since approximately the turn of the century, we've reached such a level of egoism that sociologists are speaking of a “narcissism epidemic.”

As we are growing increasingly sophisticated and increasingly narcissistic, we are developing increasingly complicated systems that leave us powerless and mistrustful of them and of each other. Since we don't trust that others have our best interests at heart, we're erecting protective shields that increase our isolation, alienation, and our fear.

If we want to feel safe, we don't need to work directly on increasing our confidence. On the contrary, we should put aside our excessive preoccupation with ourselves and focus on developing care for others, since the lack of it is the reason for our fear.

Acquiring A Sense of Security

If we want to feel safe, we don't need to work directly on increasing our confidence. On the contrary, we should put aside our excessive preoccupation with ourselves and focus on developing care for others, since the lack of it is the reason for our fear.

A sense of security does not come from fighting against hatred; it comes from striving for connection, for caring.

A person preoccupied with caring is not afraid of anything.

A person preoccupied with caring is not afraid of anything. If we can build a society based on consideration and care, it will be a society of confident and happy people.