A Better Way to Live Together
Introduction
For centuries, the world has been shaped by fear, competition, and control, especially in Western and Abrahamic (Mainly Christian and Islamic) cultures. These belief systems evolved in harsh, survival-focused environments and never stopped thinking like they were still struggling to stay alive. Even after gaining wealth and power, they kept acting like there wasn’t enough for everyone, leading to wars, colonization, and a world built on inequality.
But not all cultures developed this way. African, Indigenous, and Dharmic (Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist) traditions were shaped by more balanced environments where survival depended on cooperation, harmony, and sharing resources. Instead of creating hierarchies and domination, they built cultures based on interconnection, respect for nature, and collective well-being.
So why did Western cultures never stop hoarding power even after they had enough? Why do so many people today still act like the world is a constant competition? And how can we help them let go of fear and embrace a more loving, fair, and balanced way of life?
This essay will explain:
Why some cultures focus on survival and control while others focus on balance and connection.
Why Western culture never grew out of its survival mindset.
How we can help shift this way of thinking, both individually and as a society.
Why the idea that “Europe created modern civilization” is false.
1. The “Desert vs. Forest” Mindset: Why Some Cultures Focus on Survival and Others on Connection
This is not my idea. I got it from here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pML4y-wB9HI&pp=ygUWZm9yZXN0IHZzIGRlc2VydCBoaW5kdQ%3D%3D
Where a culture begins has a huge impact on how it develops. Let’s compare two types of environments:
- Desert Cultures (Western, Abrahamic traditions): These started in places where resources were scarce, harsh deserts, rocky landscapes, and extreme weather. To survive, people had to fight over limited food, water, and land. This led to:
- Strict rules and hierarchies (to maintain order in tough conditions).
- An “us vs. them” mentality (to protect resources from outsiders).
- Religions that promise rewards for obedience (because survival depends on following the rules).
- A belief in conquering nature instead of working with it (because nature was harsh and dangerous).
- Forest, River, and Grassland Cultures (African, Indigenous, Dharmic traditions): These started in places with more food, water, and natural abundance. Here, survival wasn’t about hoarding, it was about balance. These cultures developed:
- Flexible social structures (because no single person needed to dominate).
- An emphasis on sharing and cooperation (because working together led to better results).
- A belief in harmony with nature (because nature was life-giving, not something to be controlled).
- Spirituality based on cycles, balance, and mutual care (instead of rigid rules and judgment).
The TLDR: Desert cultures thought survival meant controlling everything, while forest cultures thought survival meant working together.
2. Why Western Culture Never Stopped Acting Like It Was Struggling to Survive
Most civilizations adjust once they have enough resources. So why didn’t Europe and Abrahamic cultures abandon their survival mentality?
They Made Survival Mode (Lack) Their Identity
- Over time, fear-based thinking became ingrained in religion, politics, and social structures. Even when Europeans had more than enough, they saw life as a competition where someone had to be on top.
- This belief was built into capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy, convincing people that power and control were necessary for success.
They Replaced Fear of Scarcity with Fear of Losing Power
- Once they conquered land and gained resources, their fear shifted: “If we stop controlling people, they might take our power away.”
- This is why Western culture continues to hoard wealth, enforce borders, and keep inequality in place. even when it no longer makes sense.
Religious and Philosophical Rigidity Locked Them In
- Christianity and Islam created absolute right-and-wrong thinking, making it hard to evolve.
- European philosophy separated humans from nature, leading to a belief that the world exists to be controlled.
- This made it easy to justify colonization, capitalism, and environmental destruction as “natural” and “necessary.”
Even today, Western culture still acts like it’s fighting to survive, even though it’s one of the richest, safest civilizations in history. This mindset has become a self-destructive loop, an endless hunger for more, even when more isn’t needed.
3. Addressing the Myth That “Europe Created Civilization”
One common defense of Western domination is the claim that Europe gave the world science, medicine, and modern civilization (and everything good). This is false.
- Kemet (Ancient Egypt) and pre-colonial Africa pioneered the foundations of math, astronomy, engineering, and medicine.
- Indigenous and Dharmic cultures developed sophisticated governance, architecture, and scientific principles centuries before Europe.
- Much of what is credited to Greece, Rome, and the European Renaissance was stolen, copied, or built on knowledge from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
The world didn’t need war, slavery, or colonization to advance, it needed cooperation and knowledge-sharing. The idea that “domination leads to progress” is a lie created by those who want to justify their power.
4. How We Can Help Shift This Way of Thinking
If the Western survival mindset is based on fear, separation, and control, the solution is reconnection, to nature, community, and wisdom.
🌀 Individually: Be the Change
- Show that life isn’t a competition. Success doesn’t have to come at someone else’s expense.
- Live in balance with nature. Reject consumerism and the idea that happiness comes from ownership.
- Challenge fear-based thinking. Replace scarcity with abundance.
🌍 Collectively: Shift the Narrative
- Expose the myth of scarcity. The world has enough for everyone when resources are shared.
- Dismantle harmful systems. Step away from consumerism, white supremacy, and colonized religion.
- Reconnect people to their own indigenous past. Many Westerners have been severed from their own traditions of balance and sustainability.
What If Some People Refuse to Change?
Not everyone will be willing to let go of their fear-based thinking. That’s fine. Liberation doesn’t require convincing everyone, it requires creating a better way of life so powerful that their toxic systems become irrelevant.
5. The Call to Action: Creating a New Future
For centuries, Western culture has forced the world into survival mode, even when survival was no longer the issue. Now, that mindset is collapsing under its own contradictions. The next step isn’t to replace it with another system of control, but to rebalance the world.
We are at a crossroads:
- Will humanity keep acting like life is a never-ending fight for power?
- Or will we embrace a world based on wisdom, interconnection, and healing?
The choice is ours. But waiting for things to change isn’t enough. We must actively build a new reality, one where cooperation replaces competition, abundance replaces fear, and balance replaces domination.
Let go of fear. Let go of survival mode. The future belongs to those who choose wisdom over control.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pML4y-wB9HI&pp=ygUWZm9yZXN0IHZzIGRlc2VydCBoaW5kdQ%3D%3D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ColorBlindness%2CWhiteness%2CandBacklash
https://www.innertraditions.com/blog/wetiko-in-a-nutshell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkkNa7eMyF0
https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/characteristics.html
https://www.gaia.com/article/did-this-african-tribe-originate-in-another-star-system