Splurging. Traveling. Experiencing.
Words to put on the shelve for an undetermined amount of time.
Because everything we once did to feel alive has suddenly been taken away from us.
We now sit still in our homes, wondering who we are and what the future holds for us.
We are aware that a new normal will soon set in, conscious that it will most likely not be one that cherishes an experiential way of life that promotes status, exclusivity, and privilege.
Ideas of jet setting across the world to take those infamous shareable selfies seem futile and cruel when so many have died from a lack of commitment to self-isolation.
When the entire world is hurting from a break in their livelihoods, who will dare share shiny pictures of a luxurious lifestyle on Instagram?
Those who have tried have already suffered from the backlash.
This is a sign of a new world order.
An interconnected awakening
The pandemic is helping us see the real underlying change happening in our interconnected world.
A change from the “I” to the “We” characterized by the rise of universal consciousness and driven by the accelerated use of social technologies.
As stories upon stories go viral on social media, from one corner of the world to the next, we are seeing the damage caused by our egotistical way of thinking and how we have exploited both planet and people at an accelerated rate since the emergence of the last industrial revolution.
All in the name of profit.
For a few.
The deadly disease has accelerated the awakening of oneness and may become known as the turning point of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
As we will soon see every living generation chanting for a new world order where everyone benefits from the unity of our global community.
Taking from the top to give to the bottom is the only way to rebalance our world economy and universal health.
Take notice, we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg; a tidal wave of changes will soon transform our way of life.
A new sense of aliveness
We now comprehend the consequences of our selfish actions when trillions upon trillions of dollars’ worth of goods sit idly in warehouses in developing countries with nowhere to go.
Nowhere to go as we realize that we don’t need them to feel alive.
Because we now recognize that to be alive means to experience every moment as if it was our last.
To feel the interconnectedness even if we are alone.
To breathe health into our bodies, and to move them in the beautiful dance we call life.
Realizing that we have everything we need to feel alive; we understand that we don’t need to own or experience anything new to connect with ourselves and with others.
Why travel around the world when the best adventure lies within oneself.
And this new form of self-expression is announcing a new reality for brands.
Tapping into one’s individuality will be the only way to re-engage the consumer in all of us.
An energetic shift of wealth
The Great Pause will also bring forward an unprecedented energetic shift in economic wealth on a global scale.
Some will fall, others will rise, then a new world order will settle in.
Leaders who have forgotten the importance of community, asking for bailouts while they retained billions in private assets will no longer be looked as business heroes.
Brands who have refused to pay their rents, their suppliers, and their employees will have alienated everyone that once made them successful.
Who will cheer for them in the future?
Who will go the extra mile to make their brand experience one that stands out from the competition?
This global silence on consumption will forever change the way we move and consume in our world as consumers who have lost both jobs and savings will no longer be looking for the next quick fix of newness.
We will see a drastic shift in what is valued by both the employee and the consumer because producing for waste or purchasing for show will no longer be allowed in the new post-pandemic world.
Those who will lead the future of consumption will be those who have understood the paradigm shift that is taking place right now where health is more valued than wealth.
And where community love is no longer an extra corporate feature but a binding way of conducting business.
Value creation will become the norm as will be a shift towards the intangibles.
It’s time for us all to take a voyage towards within and ask ourselves who we are and what we stand for before we are left behind in the wake of a virus, struggling to survive in a new world reality.
Change is in the air.
Be aware and listen to the new breeze of oneness being chanted at every corner of the world.
And join in as you have already been invited to do so by all.