In America we hear of tragedy and suffering in far off places and far away countries like Africa, China, Russia, and Pakistan, but please, not here. We have more than recently had our share of trouble with New Orleans, 911 New York, and fires in California, but please, not so much of real horror. Now, Oh My God, how bad does it have to be, but right at our doorstep with our near neighbors in Haiti? Yes I think that we have been more or less shielded from really bad times in the United States, but Haiti is very scary and very real. And just as we have tried to make the whole world a world village, we are seeing just how low life can be, and bad stuff can really be very bad and difficult at best. I think that the world, or all the peoples of the world, are going though some real growing pains and that our wits and our minds are surely being faced with the test of community, or not.

As we roll out our Sane, Sober and Safe Issue of Beyond Elite, we are being faced with the fact that much of the world lives on the edge of life, and with few to no real resources, and that we have taken much for granted in the land of plenty. Not to be overwhelmed or underwhelmed, I think that much is in front of us in many ways and much work needs to be undertaken in sober ways with sober thoughts. We are reshaping our political, banking, corporate, and everyday policies and forecasting. What needs to be fundamentally a part of our planning and neighborliness is to grab hold of our selves and redefine charity to mean clarity and realize that thousands of years of competing and fighting are really in the way of making for peace on earth, and good will to all men.

Our world organizations and our worldwide efforts have been signaling a real time of cooperation and common good, but maybe, just maybe, much has been superficial, or on grounds that have yet to be or need to be developed. I think that the planet has been shrinking as the population and populations have been expanding. I think that now is an impinging time for mind expansion and time to learn how to stop competing and start cooperating. So Old Man Time has been wearing the beard of independence and not wanting to shave and clean face for interdependence. And what say you? Are we to be all part of the problem or part of the solution of remaking our own new histories and our own new safe havens? Or is it going to be just more “Oh My God”?

Dr. Gil Eriksen is Editor-in-Chief of Beyond Elite Magazine, Founder and Director of Research at the Institute for Reality Studies, and author of the How to Think book series. A Thinker, Sexologist, Speaker, Author and Trainer, Dr. Gil Eriksen is a Realist and has spent a lifetime teaching mental fitness. For more information on Dr. Gil Eriksen, visit www.gileriksen.com , email him at drgil@gileriksen.com or visit him on the following social networks: