Remote Life or Humane Life?
We are facing one of the strong-arm challenges of “my” lifetime, that it’s ultimately on the populous ground. Companies struggling to put their employees in the office, against new generations of people with a new perspectives and meanings for what work should be.
Who will win?
Both sides have merits and risks, and lots of transformations are at stake, arising all kinds of fears, hopes and dreams.
What the future entails?
Will humans go to a remote new way of life developing new brain-chemical -equilibrium and biological capacities to regulate themselves and gain the ability to build common grounds without physical presence? Even so, I believe it will not be for sure in my lifetime…
Or will we rediscover how much we need a separate physical space from our mind space?
Or something else that we cannot forecast at the moment.
One thing is certain, change is around the corner.
When facing change, we can always connect to two different spaces to look at it, a space of fear and control, or space o love and care. History tells us that often then not we rely on the first one as a community. But the second one is also very helpful to help us cope and dream.
As someone said, the future is real, the past is just stories.
The remote work life brings lots of challenges to families and countries, as we perceive them today. It threatens physical communities based on geography and location. It facilitates nomadism, empowers independence and mobility. Is some sense it can also democratize more the access to work, based on skills and capacities. It probably changes the subjects of discrimination. A community will be based more on the will of being “part of” than the physical reality. But in the end when we are sick, or in need, which country will we go to? Who will be our “family”? Our network? What will happens to the new excluded ones? Who will take care of the black sheep? Who will look for the most vulnerable of the flock? We’ll just sacrifice them to the lions?
The question that interests me the most is: What is a more humane way of life?
And I know I don’t have an answer.
I believe in walking the middle way, as the middle itself is always shifting, but nurturing this equilibrium is important to my wellbeing, like a pendulum.
I like to do this though experiment:
Imagine that someone that you trust proposes you a new experience that envolves some hard work, but also lots of fun and excitement. In the process you will have some obstacles, but you will never be alone, you will be in a team of motivated people, that will help you through cope with your difficulties in a safe space, and where you can share your burdens. You will have time to focus, to relax, to share, laugh and cry or curse the world, if you need it. There will be an explicit time investment for create bonds between people, and that your personal wellbeing and your relationships health will always be the priority. You will have a support network that will tell you that you matter, make you feel valued and that your contribution is unique and relevant. Your voice will be heard and you will have a saying in how things are done and there will be no “do as I say, just because I’m in charge”. This experience will go for a while, but will only take X amount of your work-week, no matter what, leaving you plenty of time for family and friends and all of your personal needs.
Felling heavenly already? Imagine now that you feel really really excited about this experience, with all of your fears taken care of.
And now you have to make a choice: have this experience remotely, or physically present.
What would be your choice?
