We live in a world marked by much abuse and suffering, including large-scale atrocities. However, all of this can be changed if we choose to. How? Persuading others not to cause harm.
Some time ago, a few people managed to eradicate major injustices such as slavery, the Ancien Régime, or the subjugation of women by men by passing their ideas on to others—some of whom did the same—creating a chain that eventually became the majority. Like a row of dominoes, one after another they fell, surrendering to justice.
If that was possible in the past—when there were no social networks, smartphones, or the Internet, and when most people did not even know how to read or write—it is much easier today, when thanks to these technologies we can get messages to quite a lot of people very quickly.
You may be wondering: and why should I share those messages?
And I ask you the following questions: read them in…
…LET US PREVENT HARM!: Give meaning to our lives by doing something for a better world
To achieve that happier world in which we do not trample on one another, we face a major barrier—bigger even than the Great Wall of China—and it is this: there are 8 billion inhabitants on the planet. And how are we going to convince all of them? At first glance, it may seem like an impossible mission with our limited means, like trying to bring down that Great Wall with a simple hammer.
But if we think a little more, we realize that we have 2 good reasons for optimism.
1. MATHEMATICS
The first is that mathematics does not lie: if I share my messages on all my social networks and with all (or most of) my contacts, and I convince only a small percentage of them to do the same with their contacts—and those contacts do the same, and so on—then in the end these messages will reach most of the world’s population.
All of this provided that they are translated into enough languages for everyone to understand them, and that for each language a first person is found to start spreading the messages, since 86% of the world’s population has a mobile phone and that percentage will very likely increase.
2. THE INNATE SENSE OF ETHICS
The second reason for optimism is that we have an innate sense of justice, in some people much more developed than in others. I do not have scientific data, but intuitively I believe that on average we have approximately 40% benevolence and 60% unscrupulous selfishness. That percentage does not seem very encouraging for getting you to help share these messages so that they reach every corner, since the glass seems a little more empty than full. But the good (and bad) news is that this percentage varies greatly between people depending on their genetics and education, perhaps even reaching 90–95% goodness/justice and 5–10% evil/ignobleness.
Therefore …
…if I have several hundred contacts on WhatsApp and Facebook and I ask them to share the messages about not harming others, it is likely that several of them will do so, especially those with the highest levels of ethics. And among their contacts it is also quite possible that several will do the same, and so on, which enables a chain that ultimately reaches almost everywhere.
Moreover, over time the percentage of contacts who share will likely increase, because even if at first they had not reflected much on this, once they do, their innate sense of right and wrong pushes them to act.
THE STRUGGLE FOR A MORE JUST WORLD
The battle for a more just and happier world in which to live is a struggle—peaceful and respecting the rights of others, but a struggle nonetheless—in which, to achieve the best possible results, we must use every lawful means within our reach. Otherwise, it would probably fail, which would be harmful to humanity as a whole and to all sentient beings.
Therefore, it is necessary to spread the messages on the main social networks and to as many WhatsApp contacts and groups as possible, as well as by word of mouth with people around us.
To do so, we face 2 significant barriers:
A. I feel reluctant to devote a little of my time and energy to doing it
But if you want something, it comes at a cost. And it is more than worth it, because in the end we will have the great satisfaction of having done our bit for a better world. Instead of standing by with our arms crossed, let us be proactive. Instead of being mere spectators who passively watch what others do, like someone watching television, let us be actors—protagonists of history.
Because this cause is worth it. For it is nothing less than the cultural war between good and evil, between those who insist on maintaining abuses and harm to innocents and those who fight them. And, in the middle, the onlookers, who in reality are accomplices of the current unjust status quo. Do not wait—switch now to the side of the “good ones.”
Read LET US LIVE WITHOUT HARMING!: Let us not be accomplices or contributors to injustice
B. What will those who receive these messages say?
Will they be interested? Will everyone like them? Could someone think I am sending them spam? Or could a message even upset someone? Let us not be so overly hesitant, for 2 reasons. The first is that those who react badly are a very tiny minority (about 2%), and they can be removed from the distribution list.
And the second, and most important, is that if on one side of the scale we place the immense suffering of TRILLIONS—with a T—of sentient beings that we are working to eliminate, and on the other side the annoyance that, exceptionally, some person might experience because they do not like a message, which way does the scale clearly tip?
Read LET US PREVENT HARM!: Let us not worry about upsetting people with our messages
Therefore, let us share this type of message, whether from the Institute of Wellbeing, from other sources, or even your own. You can use your own words to convince others not to cause harm.
Let us do it on all our social networks: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), etc. And with all or most of our WhatsApp contacts. To do so, we can create a broadcast list by going to the menu, selecting New Broadcast, and choosing the contacts to add to that list. Once the list is created, it will be as easy as copying a message and pasting it into it. To do that, you must select the message and, in the Menu, tap Copy. Then you go to the list, press your finger on the message, and tap Paste.
Here you will find all the written messages from the Living Without Harm initiative. Later we will also publish videos for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as short messages for X.
Let us be more ambitious!:
1. Let us also encourage those who respond positively to the messages to share them.
2. Let us try to convince people around us not to harm anyone, either directly or indirectly. Let us raise awareness about injustices and promote the values of kindness, respect, and empathy with the arguments we consider most appropriate.
Thank you for doing so and thus contributing to a happier world,
Xavier Paya
Live Without Harming initiative
LET’S NOT HARM ANYONE, except in legitimate self-defense against an aggressor.
With the Live Without Harming initiative, we strive to prevent any kind of suffering or harm from being caused to you, your loved ones and others.
1 Mission: A happier world
3 Goals:
1. Share scientific knowledge about wellbeing.
2. Encourage people not to cause harm.
3. Promote scientific research on quality of life.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE TIPS TO BE HAPPIER?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US LEAVE A BETTER WORLD THAN THE ONE YOU FOUND?
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