2020 was an eventful year, traumatic in many ways, revolutionary in others, and certainly unpredictable.
As I see it, 2020 has ushered us into a new era, where we will view things very differently going forward. So, to conclude 2020, I’d like to offer some insights on several topics that were affected by this turbulent year, and some thoughts about our future in human society.
“Instead of looking for new things to buy, we will look for new insights, new relationships with people. We will want to “buy” a new approach to everyone, more welcoming and warm. We will become ashamed when we have bad thoughts about others; we will feel as though we’re walking around naked, and everyone can see who we really are, that our thoughts are exposed. The garments will be a little more spiritual, beautifying our thoughts about others rather than the skin on our flesh.”
1. Familial relations: In 2020, we learned about the importance of family, that in the end, this is our first, most intimate, and most natural circle, the one I truly should look after. We’ve done a lot of scrutiny regarding the family and I think that in the end, it will create more solid connections.
2. Food: This year, at least in Israel, we stopped eating out, since restaurants were closed much of the time, and started cooking. In my view, this can only do us good. I hope we can eliminate the supermarkets and leave only ten percent of the things they sell, only the healthy, natural things. This is all we need. Nothing is better for us than to cook our own food. And if we crave something new, we can always visit our neighbors or they can visit us.
3. Shopping: I think shopping will change drastically. It all depends on the influence of the environment but I don’t think shopping will be as it was prior to the virus. It’s just that the social environment dictates everything. If it told us to walk around in slippers, we would. If it told us that high heels were ridiculous, no woman would dare wear them.
Instead of looking for new things to buy, we will look for new insights, new relationships with people. We will want to “buy” a new approach to everyone, more welcoming and warm. We will become ashamed when we have bad thoughts about others; we will feel as though we’re walking around naked, and everyone can see who we really are, that our thoughts are exposed. The garments will be a little more spiritual, beautifying our thoughts about others rather than the skin on our flesh.
4. Health: As I said many times before, I don’t view Covid-19 as an illness. I think it is a cure that heals our society, our relationships, and in the end, our health. I think that after the pandemic, society will feel healthier than it felt prior to the pandemic, especially if we use the crisis in order to intensify our connections and mutual responsibility.
5. School: I think we must revolutionize the education system, turn it upside down. There is more to be discussed here but it’s clear that the current system is defunct and needs to change. It is simply unsuitable for the 21st century. Schools have become a place for nothing but licentiousness, drugs, and a host of other corruptions. There is no point going back to it.
6. Monitors and screens: Although we’re spending more time than ever watching our little screens on mobile phones or PCs, we haven’t learned a thing from them. What we did learn is that the people who control the mainstream and social media are so corrupt that I haven’t enough words to describe what I think about them; it is simply terrible. I would disconnect anyone who is currently creating shows on the media, and I would send them all to an institution where they can be educated about being human, if it is still possible for them.
The media are not a means of communication; they are a means of manipulation. I think a radical change is necessary here, or we will all suffer a terrible blow because of it, and only afterwards begin to recover and do things better. Before people in the media even approach their job, they must be taught what it means to treat people decently. Only after they are reformed in that way can they be permitted to work in this field.
7. Jobs and careers: It turns out that we don’t need to work that many hours. In 2020, we learned that we can work fewer hours, settle for more basic needs, but benefit ourselves and all of nature in the process.
8. Money: For now, we still worship money. However, we are moving toward an awakening from it, and I hope that soon we will begin to feel that there is no escape from revolutionizing how we value things. We will begin to search for new rewards, benefits that have to do with improved human relations, a sense of mutual esteem, equality, and mutual responsibility. When we can buy what we need through good relationships, money will become meaningless.
9. Living conditions: We’ve learned that we can live out in the country and still remain connected. This is very important. I’m sure that this trend will expand. Today, there is no reason why I shouldn’t live where I feel most comfortable yet work at almost anything.
10. Travel: I think travel has changed significantly. People are losing the desire, the craving to see new things. There was a period when humanity chased these excursions, but we seem to have grown out of it. I think we’re entering a period where people will simply not be able to satisfy themselves simply by traveling. Looking at buildings or nature will simply not do it for us anymore.
This trend is even more potent in the younger generation. Young people are completely absorbed in their mobile phones. They may be in Amsterdam, or wherever, yet text their friends back home. What they have on the monitor is what matters, and nothing else interests them.
