Existential Threats

I was in my 20s when I started to really believe that I could do more with my life than just survive. Before that, growing up in foster care and the custody of a state agency, I struggled mightily at times with the basics of existing. It wasn’t until years later that I concluded that “system living” poses an existential threat to the spirit of children and youth. It poses a threat to their futures.

We were not born to live in systems; we were born to live in families. Prior generations defined existential threats as the physical threat of wiping people from earth because of nuclear or other disasters. I believe today our biggest threat is the possibility of wiping humanity and organizations away spiritually. Once our spirit has been neutralized, our demise is only a matter of time.

I used Uber, a ridesharing app, for the first time a couple months ago and the technology worked perfectly. I now use Uber instead of cabs when driving myself is not an option. I was at Panera recently and I ordered all of my food from an electronic kiosk, which was pretty cool. I love shopping at Schnucks; although if I am shopping, it is more like a graze as I am in and out with a few items and I generally go through the self-checkout lane. I read most of my news online these days; I rarely pick up a hard copy of a newspaper. I recently learned about new technology that replaces human beings in writing the perfect letter. Now it is easier than ever for people to easily raise money for others, causes and even themselves on personal giving sites.

All of this technology represents an existential threat to our current paradigm and system of thinking and doing. There is a point when our relevance is called into question and we must act boldly. Unless and until we are broken spiritually, we can find new ways to survive, which is a necessary condition to thriving and re-imagining our future. Survival has never been the lure; I want all that God has in store. I want a life more abundantly.