The big picture to solving world problems
Solving world problems require tackling three fundamental areas:
- The problem (Is there a problem? What is the problem exactly?).
- The individual (how a person reacts and deals with the problem).
- The environment (i.e., the system we have created to reinforce the problem).
1. The problem
There are two aspects to this:
- Acknowledging the problem.
- Understanding the problem.
Acknowledge the problem
You can never be a good problem solver unless you can see the problem in all its details and can feel the problem through the people who experience it everyday. To see is to imagine being in the shoes of others through effective visualisation and even experiencing firsthand the problem that people go through in order to see the problem that others see. An important part of this problem solving is to not only acknowledge there is a problem, but also to feel the emotions of the people experiencing the problem. Can you acknowledge the negative emotions from the situation? If you can feel the emotions as well as see the problem, you are already half-way there to solving it. Show to the people that you understand what they are facing.
In other words, when you are acknowledging the problem, it is essential for you to experience the situation firsthand and use it as an opportunity to gather the emotions and the knowledge relating to the problem. You need to do this if you are going to reach the heart of any problem to its deepest level. The only other alternative approach you have is to use your visualisation and imagination skills to help you see the picture in your mind. Then you should be able to support what others are seeing and feeling through the same empathy and indirect experience method. Then, you must visualise all the parts that contribute to the problem. People are a part of the problem. What we learn and we apply our knowledge is another. Environmental factors can also contribute to the problem, so find out what they are and how it is creating the problem for others.
This is the first stage to solving a problem of any kind.
Understanding the problem
As you know, for there to be a solution, there must be a problem. If there are no problems, how can there be a solution? And no, we should not be creating a solution in search of a problem as some politicians do, or to convince people that there might be a problem if there isn't one or to make people think they have a problem. That is the aim of marketing and selling. We are focusing on real problems affecting lots of people in some negative way and to find genuine long-term solution(s).
For you to have a genuine problem to solve as can be observed by the people and through your experience or visualisation skills, it is important to know something about the problem itself. Or, at the very least, acknowledge that there could be a problem (if you are not facing the problem) by learning about the emotions people go through, as well as what they are experiencing in real life that is leading to the problem (as your show of support to others who claim to have experienced the problem). But remember, if you intend to solve the problem (because you or other people are stating there is a problem) and for you to find a solution, you are going to have to understand the problem in all its details. Get to the very roots of the problem. Try to figure out why it has become a problem, and why is it so widespread and/or deep-rooted in people's lives.
It is at this point that you should begin to feel like you actually own the problem as if it is your baby. You feel like the expert about everything there is to know about the problem. Even if you are not directly affected by the problem, your detailed knowledge of the problem can go a long way towards finding a significant and important solution. This can only mean one thing: a solution is potentially just around the corner. Even if the solution is not immediately obvious despite your indepth knowledge of the problem, remember, a solution will eventually be found. You just have to believe there is a solution.
Just keep in mind that every problem must have a solution. Like the the opposites of life, or the ying-yang principle, If a problem emerges, a solution will exist to solve the problem. So long as everyone is prepared to learn and makes changes to avoid creating the problem again, the solution will present itself and eliminate that problem.
2. The individual
Apart from understanding the problem, a problem is only a problem if a human says so. This raises another dimension to world problems: the people themselves. It is a situation where an individual, or collectively among multiple individuals, are somehow experiencing the problem and seem to be, for whatever reason, unable to find a solution or a solution that will not create other problems for everyone else. Why this might be the case varies with each problem. Some people may be preoccupied with surviving that they cannot step back and think about the situation carefully. Or perhaps it is just a lack of education? Whatever the truth, you must understand people and their needs and why some people are unable to seek out a solution and implement it for the problem to disappear. What is stopping people from getting to the solution?
Remember, at the end of the day, the aim is to turn people into solutions, not problems. Because at the end of the day what you want is to bring back the genuine and necessary positive emotions that all living things deserve and seek in life once a solution is found and properly implemented.
3. The environment
Apart from people, there is one more aspect to contend with when properly solving world problems: the environment. It is likely to be the most neglected and ignored part of any problem solving mainly because you will hear people say that we should adapt to whatever the environment is like where people find themselves in and consider it normal. This may be a suitable response in some situations, but not all. There will be situations where the environment has been modified to such an extent and most likely by the work of other humans that it could lead to unexpected and potentially unfavourable or dangerous manner that forces people to do things in a certain way only to cause or create more problems that whatever the original aim of the environmental change was to solve a previous problem. Sometimes the benefits of such change may only favour a few people and hence may not see the new problems or choose to ignore them feeling that others must simply adapt and accept the new change. However, if enough people can see or experience additional problems, the original solution is not the best or balanced solution there is. Whoever made the decision to go with one solution has not thought through the problem properly. In fact, the main purpose in accepting a solution so quickly could be a matter of life and death. We all must survive, so we seek the simplest and quickest solution even if it is not the best and most balanced solution available. Once a half-baked solution is found, it is easy for some people to get stuck in a rut by accepting the solution. The benefits obtained from the solution can be powerful, like a drug. We cannot break through it to see a better solution. These few people will be the ones who will say that you can change your own thinking, and your perception of the environment can be changed to make the problem seem less noticeable and possibly even disappear. Do what everyone else does and eventually you can have some of the benefits. That is fine to a certain extent, but not all problems can fit nicely through this approach. Certain problems in the world may find their way to affect your life or others even if you ignore it without you realising it and then you wonder, why are there so many social and environmental problems despite following through with this poorly-designed initial solution? Should we spend more money on the military and law enforcement to make the problem disappear even more or hidden "under the rug" so to speak? Do we pretend that the economic solutions and market forces are sufficient to solve all problems, both socially and environmentally? Or do we need to get to the heart of the matter of why we have created the kind of environment we have for people to live in? For all we know, changing the environment can force people to toughen up, sometime behave badly, have less regard for human life and other living things, suddenly need to fight for resources or be like everyone elese, and soon find negative solutions to affect more people (and hence become a new problem for them) and the rest of life on Earth and before you know it, more world problems are created. Until a proper and well-thought out solution is found and implemented to tackle all areas, we cannot ignore how the environment can affect the individual to create the problem. There is only so much individuals can do to solve the problem on their own, especially if the problem affects others and the solutions they find are not ideal and come back to affect you in a negative way. Something else in the environment must change in a different way to bring back the essential balance and ensure people have the right solutions to help them survive and be happy.
You will see examples of this when city councils realise after a while that pure concrete, glass, and steel environments are generally cold and uninviting places (even if it seems like a very low maintenance cost solution), and often the city councils have to return to a more balanced position of bringing back more greenery and establishing a proper park with well-established trees, well-kept gardens, and create nice natural vistas that people can relax and enjoy. Then people can think more clearly and find better long-term solutions in such a more favourable environment.
Despite all the claims of humans can adapt to any environment, humans do need on occasions to have the right environments for certain world problems to disappear and for people to do the right thing by creating the right solutions.
Why do humans create, or end up living in, the wrong environments leading to additional world problems? They are sometimes the result of human activity where influential individuals (e.g., developers, city councils, and governments) have not thought through their actions properly leading to unwanted or negative consequences for others and life on Earth. At other times, it is simply the fact that some environments are in common locations for uncontrolled natural events, such as near the base of a presumably extinct volcano or active fault line in the tectonic plate. There is little we can do with such disasters other than try to predict when those events might come and prepare people as best we can (especially if they choose to stay put and live in those affected areas where the problems can arise again). Or, better still, hopefully we can encourage people to move away from those areas (such as living on higher ground to get away from flood-prone areas, or areas where there are no fault lines in the Earth's crust). Clearly the decision and solution to start a town or city in that initial area wasn't the right one. Not enough careful thinking as people needed to survive quickly and saw the quick and initial benefits in staying in a certain area. Otherwise, we must devise new solutions to lessen the impact of such events on people's lives (such as redesigning homes to withstand high winds or can be protected with enough earth materials or other barriers, or place large building on springs that can absorb a lot of the energy from an earthquake). On the other hand, if it is the former in the sense that people have done or been doing something to the environment to create problems for other people (and no amount of changing one's behaviour or thinking can solve it), there is much we can do to change it again and bring back balance. But it will require everyone to acknowledge the problem exists and are willing to become the solution, including trying something different.
Whatever solution people come up with to improve the environment, we know a good solution will come and one that will help people to relax, be themselves,and help them to contribute more to society with greater positive things and for the benefit of everyone and all living things.
Part of our aim for being in this universe is to ensure that we are all happy and loved. The people will must learn to live with and the environment we create must reflect this love. This includes establishing appropriate environments for allowing people to relax, able to survive and be happy, and be more creative in their contributions and ability to find original solutions. That means we must have the solutions in place to grow and share the essential foods created on the land and in the seas, as well as gain access to technology, to make life easier for people. If this also means giving them knowledge from education as needed for people to have the tools to create new solutions, then so be it. If it means we must change the dysfunctional man-made system we have created and start a new world order that permanently solves the original problems and is more balanced, then so be it. That is what we must do to properly solve problems. If the solution involves fixing up the environment and showing less importance on profit as the driving force on people's lives in order to allow a genuine long-term solution to be properly implemented, then that is what we must do, not just for those experiencing the problems, but for the sake of future generations of people who will come. It is the responsibility of everyone to ensure the environment supports the solution we are trying to achieve for the problem to be permanently solved.