“If you watch the news, you’re bound to think things are pretty darn bad. If you look at statistics, especially those around quality of life, war, freedom, etc, you are likely to see that things are better than they used to be. If you look at the racial injustice, climate change, and political leadership, you’ll probably feel pretty grim. However, if you hear the spiritual rhetoric about the evolution of consciousness, great awakening, birthing of a new age, etc, you may feel optimism once more. In short, ‘better’ and ‘worse’ are dualistic, subjective terms. They are not concrete – rather, they depend on your vantage point. The only common denominator is that there is great change, just as there always has been. Change is occurring in every bit of matter, every corner of consciousness, every nook and cranny of existence. Given this, we must not grasp at smoke – that is to say, hold onto a model of ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘better’ or ‘worse’. All we can do is accept present circumstances, study past trends, and envision a future that aligns with our deepest truths.”