Call it what you will, “the noughties”, “the two-thousands” or something else, the first decade of the 21st century (2000-2009) is now over. Looking back on the past ten years through news photographs, it becomes clear that it was a dramatic, often brutal decade. Natural disasters, terrorist attacks and wars were by far the most dominant theme. Ten years ago, Bill Clinton was ending his final term in office, very few had ever heard of Osama bin Laden, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein still ruled Iraq – all that and much more has changed in the intervening time. It’s really an impossible task to sum up ten years in a handful of photographs, but below is my best attempt at a look back at the last decade – feel free to let me know what I missed in the comments below. (50 photos total)
Depressing as hell. Anyone think the next decade will be any better?
Not at the rate we are going…
The disappointments in Obama, the wars, the economy, jobs, global warming, terrorists, natural (?) disasters, and on and on…
I honestly don’t know what I should be looking forward to in the coming year/decade.
Well, I am admittedly an eternal optimist, but it seems to me that there has always been an ebb and flow, and some decades are, therefore, more positive than others. I think the pendulum will swing back the other way again, and then it will continue swinging back and forth throughout time.
When you’re in the midst of it, it can feel as though there’s no hope, but one thing is for certain–Life is change. There have been eons worth of decades that felt this bad or worse to someone, somewhere. We’re just more collectively aware of the whole world now, because of mass media and instant news–complete with images. People have survived epidemics, plagues, famines, droughts, floods, dust bowls, ice ages, holocausts, genocides, civil wars, world wars, and on and on. But people survive, and even go on to thrive. And we of the 21st Century will, too.
I, for one, believe that there is power in thought. Quantum physics is finally producing empirical evidence that substantiates these beliefs (that thought influences the physical world). Therefore, it is important that we keep an image in our collective consciousness of a brighter time, so that we might manifest it. While continuing to function “realistically” in the present on a day-to-day basis, it is imperative that we also hold an imagine in our minds [intentions] of a world of peace and prosperity for all. Such a world IS within the realm of possibilities (if we could but shed our greed and fears). If we focus on the doom and gloom, though, that is what we will continue to experience.
This is not just some airy-fairy, new-age bull. Each and every one of us holds it within our power to contribute to the manifestation of a better world, or a worse one. Your choice.
I appreciate your positive thought Debby, but it is ” just some airy-fairy, new-age bull.”
“We humans have existed in our present form for about a hundred thousand years. I believe that if during this time the human mind had been primarily controlled by anger and hatred, our overall population would have decreased. But today, despite all our wars, we find that the human population is greater than ever. This clearly indicates to me that love and compassion predominate in the world. And this is why unpleasant events are “news”; compassionate activities are so much a part of daily life that they are taken for granted and , therefore, largely ignored.” –His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet
The Dalai Lama: well-known quantum physicist
(Just teasing, auntie.)
Albert Einstein said that Buddhism was the only major religion in the world that could be reconciled with the modern understanding of physics.
Perhaps I should seek and read Professor Victor Mansfield’s “Tibetan Buddhism & Modern Physics” (Templeton Foundation Press).
Don’t confuse the Dalai Lama with the Pope.
Good one, Jill.
Poor Kenneth asked, “Anyone think the next decade will be any better?” So, I thought I’d share what the Dalai Lama thought about it. I figured he might carry a little more weight than I do, philosophically speaking. Naturally, if one were to consider only the 50 photos in The Big Picture, there would be little hope for humanity. But, I especially liked this part of the quote from the DL:
And this is why unpleasant events are “news”; compassionate activities are so much a part of daily life that they are taken for granted and, therefore, largely ignored.
There are plenty of good things happening, if we look around to see them–which I do. It is from them that I draw hope.
P.S. SnoLepard just commented while I was writing again. Thanks, SL, I was looking for a way to explain that point, but Einstein did a better job than I could have. (I had actually considered a quip that that yes, indeed, the Dalai Lama was a well known quantum physicist.)
The thought about Buddhism is often attributed to Einstein. There is no evidence that he ever said it or wrote it.
I don’t think Jill was comparing the Dalai Lama to the Pope. I think she was comparing him to Max Planck.
Without a doubt, there is a long list of studies that support the idea that what we think affects us mentally, emotionally, and physically. Speaking of evidence, Ken, you, of course, have evidence that it is “just some airy-fairy new-age bull”?
Absolutely, how we feel emotionally affects how we feel physically (and vice versa). If the whole world gets into a good mood however, I don’t think the CO2 levels will drop, misogyny end, and religions unite.
I didn’t introduce quantum physics, the Dalai Lama, Einstein, the Pope, or the Templeton Foundation to the discussion. And the term “just some airy-fairy, new-age bull” was not originally mine. My sister knows I am a skeptic. I respect her right to hold opinions different than mine and I respect her ability to defend them.
I should have put a smiley face at the end of my comment. I was just teasing, Ken. Just as I thought you were teasing Debby. BELIEVE ME, I am well aware of Debby’s ability to defend herself!:)
Well, at least we’re getting a dialogue going. I don’t think having “the whole world in a good mood” will necessariily cause CO2 levels to drop, but it could help on the misogyny and religious unity fronts. It’s even possible that it could help us more readily reach an accord about environmental concerns. One thing is for certain. If the whole world is in a bad emotional state, those problems will all continue to get worse.
As for the other aspect of my earlier statement, I wasn’t merely talking about how our thinking effects us emotionally or physically–little question remains on that count. My point was that they are gathering more and more evidence within the field of quantum physics that thought can effect the movement of atoms outside of our own physical bodies. How much we can accomplish with our minds remains to be discovered, but this principle has no more bearing on a belief in God (or lack thereof) than gravity does.
So, if our thoughts are having an effect on the physical world in any small way at all, aren’t we all better off to keep a vision in mind of a better world?