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| The Mystery within... |
Listening to some of the presidential hopefuls test the
waters this past week made me want to make a list of the human qualities I want
my next president to have. So far
I have listed: 1) is emotionally intelligent; 2) is reflective in decision
making; 3) knows our children are the future for our country; 4) has empathy
and compassion for those struggling; 5) understands the pursuit of wealth for
wealth alone will destroy us all.
I have recently finished reading, “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma" by Bessel Van Der Kolk,
M.D. He says there are choices to be
made for a healthy society for which we all have a role. He cites northern European countries
successes with lower health care costs, guaranteed minimum wage, parental leave
for both parents after a child is born, and high-quality childcare for all
working mothers. Outcomes from
these countries are reflected in his following statistics:
“Could this approach to public health have something do
with the fact that the incarceration rate in Norway is 71/100,000, in the
Netherlands 81/100,000, and the US 781/100,000, while the crime rate in those
countries is much lower than in ours, and the cost of medical care about
half? …The United States spends
$84 billion per year to incarcerate people at approximately $44,000 per
prisoner; the northern European countries a fraction of that amount. Instead, they invest in helping parents
to raise their children in safe and predictable surroundings. Their academic test scores and crime
rates seem to reflect the success of those investments.“
From October 28 – December 16, 2013 I blogged my way through
the evolutionary biologist and anthropologist, David Sloan Wilson’s book, “The
Neighborhood Project—Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a
Time.” My closing question for
each blog read:
“What if we all focused on ways to apply the laws of
nature to improving our lives?”
“What if we all bumped into the more paternal and maternal
among us more often?”
“What if we all learned the right questions to ask that
lead us to become more healthy and productive citizens?”
“What if we all belonged to a trusted small helping group
and reflected each day on our struggles?”
“What if we could all stop and reflect when bumping into
unpleasantness?”
“What if each day we challenged our self to catch someone
doing something right, praising him or her, and smiling more?”
“What if we all looked with evolutionary eyes that go
beyond self-interest; eyes that respect and highlight diversity, and search for
ways to end global poverty?”
“What if we all understood the role we play in each
other’s evolutionary process?”
What if you made a list of the human qualities you would
like to see in our next president?
What would it look like?
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