How to be human

I am reading a new book and I was struck by this passage in it:

There is a new way to be human. There has to be, because our lives are at stake. In the old way of being human, the global economy, global conflicts, and the seismic shifts of social media and technology result in uncertainty, anxiety, and apprehension about the unknown. The old way accepts the cynicism of the world with a resigned, bystander-victim mentality about life. The old way of being is built on compromises, resulting in choices that compartmentalize your life and keep you from being authentically you. In the old way, spirituality soothes your yearnings but keeps you sedated on a stunted journey that ignores much of what life has to offer. Your life is deeply affected by the old way. And yet, you have a choice. What if you quit accepting life as it is, and stop settling for so little? What if the world really can change? And what if that change begins with you?

For a while now I have been very cynical when it comes to humanity as a whole. I have allowed my circumstances, past and present, to shape how I see others and how I interact with them. I have always thought that real change can only happen if we as individuals make the explicit effort day after day to establish a new way of living in our immediate vicinity. Maybe it's time I actually practiced it.

On a totally unrelated note, I saw this new product, courtesy of the The Onion:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-roomba-blender-makes-smoothie-out-of-everythin,29539/