The Symbolic Momentum of Today's Crises

Momentum Can Change Overnight

(This is a segment from “Living in Flow: The Science of Synchronicity and How Your Choices Shape Your World.”)

Symbolic momentum is my term for the direction that our choices are leading. Every choice we make contributes to the tendency for our collective future to trend that way. When we stand up for injustice, we contribute to a future that is more just and we can expect situations to arise which help us on this quest.

We build symbolic momentum gradually with every choice we make. But sometimes, the momentum shifts very quickly.

Changing the physical circumstances of climate change, for instance, is a very slow, labor-intensive process. It requires passing laws, inventing and building new technology, and thousands of other little steps repeated everywhere throughout the world.

Symbolic momentum, on the other hand, can change overnight. This happens any time an entire population changes its view of a situation based on one or two salient events. Symbolic momentum changed overnight in the “shots heard round the world” at the beginning of both the American Revolutionary War and World War I, and at the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Symbolic momentum changed the day the Russians launched Sputnik 1 into earth orbit, triggering an injection of money and enthusiasm into the U.S. space program.

Symbolic momentum changed when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery and when peaceful marchers were attacked in Selma, leading to major gains in the U.S. civil rights movement. Symbolic momentum changed on September 11, 2001, as millions of Americans suddenly felt for the first time that their country was not a safe haven from political danger. All of these were bold events that instantaneously reshaped the course of history, for better or worse. Changing our minds can happen overnight when the appropriate spark is applied.

Now picture a future…

Now picture a future moment in which we have already shifted our symbolic momentum concerning climate change. Our whole population is motivated to do what it takes to address the issue by recognizing the power of our individual actions and behaving collectively so as to aim for some good apples of balance and wholeness on the tree.

It is possible that three months from now a breakthrough will occur in energy storage technology, cutting the energy wasted on the electrical grid by 90 percent and reducing our power needs by an order of magnitude. Such a technological breakthrough could be the result of a series of small synchronicities just waiting for us to put the weight on those branches.

Or imagine that an enormous extreme-weather event occurs shortly before an important election, resulting in a public backlash that votes out of office many leaders who deny the facts of climate change. The timing of such an event is within the possibilities of the responsive cosmos to orchestrate. Suddenly we may find ourselves in a political environment within which progress is possible.

Imagine that as we continue to build symbolic momentum toward wholeness and balance, a viral movement arises online that transcends government gridlock and sparks a worldwide commitment between individuals in every country to change their thought patterns and consumption habits. This, too, is simply the alignment of events to conspire in our favor. This is precisely how I suspect the responsive cosmos works.

We always take the first step…

In shaping our world, we are always in charge of the first step. It is not our job to worry about how we are going to get to the finish line; our job is to build symbolic momentum in the direction we wish to go. Each step we take toward balance and wholeness brings us onto a branch of the tree of possibilities that has a slightly higher density of apples representing positive change. As the density of positive apples increases, I suspect we will experience more and more synchronistic events that allow us to respond proactively to further our mission. Those apples are there, somewhere on the tree. We just need to get to them.

The change we want to see comes from inside ourselves. To address the big issues, let’s begin inside by shifting our workplace mentality toward joy and authentic expression, and away from just doing our job.

Let’s begin inside by shifting our cultural tendency (if we are men) to respect the contributions of men more than women, or (if we are women) to defer to men even when we have more expertise on a subject.

Let’s begin inside by acknowledging and respecting the contributions of all people in society and transforming our personal judgments into mutual understanding in every relationship we have.

Let’s begin inside by speaking up for ourselves and what we care about no matter who we are with.

These are ways in which our choices can shape our world. Without such changes, we are unlikely to find the systemic solutions that are needed for issues as enormous as climate change or globalization.

When we live in flow, we can lead fulfilling lives and pursue happiness in synergy with each other. As our personal lives become expressions of our authentic selves, we can’t help but become a community of people capable of finding workable solutions to practical problems.

Your Job Is to Leap

Excerpted and adapted from “Living in Flow: The Science of Synchronicity and How Your Choices Shape Your World” by Sky Nelson-Isaacs