From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
They had a philosophy that we are not here to accumulate, but rather to provide a service to the world- to live a life of service- a service which included education.
I remember taking my daughter to a speech I gave when she was just 5 years old, I wanted her to see mummy on stage as a way of showing her that she could be whatever she wanted to be.
This crisis is expected to trigger migration from these vulnerable regions to the more resilient Northern countries, with projections suggesting 80 million to 200 million people could be displaced by 2050 if we fail to mitigate the impacts.
My Mom never recovered psychologically from being in the concentration camp; so, my aunt and uncle inherited me. They received this 'animal' with no social upbringing and turned me into a human being.
GDP only catches a slice of the value that we value. It captures what goes on in the market, the financial value of goods and services sold in an economy over a year. In the boxing match between free market laissez-faire capitalists and state loving socialists the economic debate ignored the household – which is expected to provide the food, do the cooking, washing, cleaning, sweeping, education, look after the sick and elderly, yet is completely missing from GDP.
In our culture, particularly in the last 300-500 years in Western culture, people have become much more ambivalent to ecstatic experiences. The idea of losing control is seen as dangerous and shameful... We're a culture that's very much about individual autonomy, and ecstasy is the opposite of that – it's about surrendering control.
The vast majority of people- if they can benefit from something or make some money, will look the other way. It's personal greed, without thought about the consequences.
We possess an essence deeper than mere job titles, yet society often deviates us from it. We're conditioned to identify with our roles more than our core selves.
I often tell my students to recognize the implicit messages our clothing conveys about our mood, social status, and more. Soon, our entrance into a room will announce our presence not just visually or audibly, but also electromagnetically. Our interactions with others will encompass sight, sound, and this electromagnetic identity.
We have to constantly evolve how we make an impact, and make sure that we're doing what the communities we work in want us to support rather than enforcing some kind of model. Our work has to be led by the leaders of communities telling us what will work.
Unfortunately, we've become so adept at concealing our problems that we often brush aside reproductive and women's health issues. It's as though discussing them is taboo. Now, it feels like showing strength means not voicing any discomfort or pain. However, there comes a point when silence is no longer an option.
Children are bought and sold like animals, sometimes at a lower price than animals. 168 million children work as child labourers, more than 200 million children who should be in education are not at school.