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Fifty Years From Now:
What I See
By R. J. Bodhi
As we sit on the porch in the early evening of the year 2050, we smile as some kids run past to help our neighbor move wheelbarrows of dirt.  We remember what it used to be like 50 years ago.   Back then we could not sit on the front porch safely.   Kids could not be outside in the early evening without risk.

Fifty years ago we decided to focus on our children.   The greatness of a society can be measured by how it treats its children.   Starting with the earliest grades, we embedded essential teachings into schools and family life.   We taught children how to include others, how to solve problems, how to communicate effectively, and, most difficult of all, how to appreciate those different from ourselves.   These "higher level" teachings supported the individual child, and children in general.   As children grew up with healthy relationships with other children, they grew to have a healthy sense of self, a sense of connection to society, and a desire to give back to society.

We gave unusual opportunities to kids who were unusually wise and kind.   For instance, we gave some of them internships with great leaders.   Those kids who did well with the internships were then mentored into positions of increasing power.

What else did we do?

We ensured that every child who needed a mentor and protector had one.   As we had more young leaders, we encouraged mentoring as an important part of growing up.   Older youths mentored younger ones and younger ones mentored those still younger.   As the children grew, they increasingly looked to their peer mentors as role models.

Yes, and what else did we do?

We went global...

We remember all of this as we get ready to move out from our porch in the early evening of the year 2050. As we walk down the street, we see some children laugh and play while others work with intense concentration. We can't really tell which children go with which parents; everyone seems to be related. Children feel safe with different adults guiding them and all of the adults seem to be watching over the children. This is the way we designed it to be. We shared our vision with our children and we joined with them to create this type of life.

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