All Our Problems Are Really One Problem

And the single solution is surprisingly simple.

Brooke Landberg
Aug 24, 2017 · 2 min read

If you’ve read any of my other posts, you can probably tell I like to get to the bottom of things. I like to find simplicity in seeming-complexity.

Each, “Well, it’s more complicated than that,” sends me on a search for even more clarity.

I enjoy aligning my understanding of different things with the fact that everything is — on some level — really only one thing.

On my search, I’m starting to see a single thread running through the fabric of all our fears — and all our behaviors — the ones that result in so much suffering.

Whether it’s fear of the future, obsession with outcomes, resistance to whatever mood we’re in, judgment of the other, or attachment to rules — the one fear underlying all of these is a fear of facing our own feelings.

Whether it’s our romantic partnerships, our professional relationships, or our societal right relations that seem to be falling apart due to distrust, contempt, or judgment, one psychological weakness can be found at the core. The way it looks to me today is that all antisocial behaviors can be traced back to a fear of uncomfortable psychological experiences.

I find this finding to be pretty uplifting.

For one thing, it means that all the problems we think we need to solve — whether in our personal, professional, or political lives — are really just one problem.

On top of that, it’s a problem that’s pretty darn easy to solve, at least on the individual level. All it takes is an insight:

This is what I think it means to be the change. Once that problem is solved, the ability to work together to creatively solve all our other problems naturally arises. We could build the world we want to see.

If you could see for yourself right now that you’re not afraid of what you think you’re afraid of — that your own psychological experience can’t hurt you unless you let it — what magic might you make?

What peace would you find, what broken bonds would you prepare, what pain would you be able to bear, what potential would you unleash?

I can’t wait to find out.


The Daily Lift

Grounded insights on living well — and loving well — in an unwell world.

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Brooke Landberg

Written by

Working toward freedom.

The Daily Lift

Grounded insights on living well — and loving well — in an unwell world.

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