This has been the hottest summer by far since I moved to Colorado 5 years ago. Most late afternoons the clouds come in and rain and thunderstorms threaten. If it rains there is a relief from the heat, which is welcomed. The heat and the threatening storms all seem an interesting metaphor for the nature of life here on the planet these days. It feels like everything is heated-up and stormy.

First let me share some examples of the hot and stormy ways:

All reputable scientists agree our climate is being affected by our abuse of our planet
More people seem hot under the collar
People are pushing their points of view as if they are right and all others are wrong
People are more dogmatic about their religious beliefs
The economy is spinning the same old theories that don't work for most of the people
The rich are getting richer and the rest of us are struggling more
Politicians seem to be getting more rigid and less willing to work things out
Too many corporations seem to be run only be greed with no thought of sustainability
Money is influencing Congress more than ever
Wars keep going on even if the vast majority of people are opposed to them
The media is primarily interested in the sensational not the truth
People are trying to loose themselves in mindless entertainment
People everywhere are under the influence of medications
And other disturbing trends of denial, disconnection and dis-ease.

This may seem to be kind of a dreary assessment but this is not all that is going on.

At the same time there are people who:

Care about the planet and are doing what they can to go green
Are doing practices to be more mindful, conscious and peaceful
Are seeking to understand and work with a variety of points of view
Are leaving the dogma of the past behind and seeking greater connection with each other
Are turning off the mindless media and finding the natural world again
Are transforming businesses into conscious capitalism
Are demanding more constructive accountability in Washington, DC
Are more actively engaged in finding peaceful alternatives to war
Are exploring alternatives to the medical establishment
And many other positive developments.

There are reasons to be hopeful.

Times of change are often stormy with those holding onto the past and the way things have been and those who are expanding in consciousness and focused on better solutions. In the book MegaTrends 2010 the author Patricia Aburdene (over at Sounds True) argues that consciousness in commerce is the most notable trend these past few years. She is incredible optimistic that where we are headed is very positive but there still may be some further decay of the present system before we are out of the woods.

I welcome the positive forecast and the impact of us being more conscious human beings. There is hope and if together we stay focused the end results will be a significant transformation of all our present structures.

Please hang in there, even if things feel really stuck and stagnant because soon our forces of compassion, consciousness and deeply shared connection will start a major shift that will leave all that was not working behind.