The Color of Now-If Today’s World Had a Color, What Would It Be?
The Koan of "Mu" and the Paradox of Now.
Centuries ago, a Zen student asked Master Joshu, “Does a dog have Buddha nature?” Joshu replied, “Mu!” - a word transcending “yes” or “no,” pointing to the infinite beyond binaries. Today, my teacher still asks me, “What is the color of Mu?”
My answer? A swirling blend of blinding light and pitch-black shadows. An achromatic world, stripped of easy answers.
Sound familiar?
Our world today feels like “Mu on steroids.” We’re bombarded by extremes: breakthroughs in AI and climate collapse, global solidarity and deep polarization, awe and despair. Yet beneath this chaos lies a Zen truth: we are not the center of the universe. The paradox? We are both insignificant and integral to the whole. The good and bad news? We are one. Broken, yet whole.
WHAT: The Unprecedented Storm
Never before has humanity faced such simultaneous transformation:
Conflicts that place us on the verge of war (Ukraine, Gaza, Flashpoints like Taiwan, Philippines’ Sabina Shoal, etc)
AI’s quantum leap (tools like DeepMind and GPT-4 redefining creativity, ethics, and labor)
Climate tipping points (oceans warming faster than predicted, species vanishing daily)
Social reckonings (#MeToo, Black Lives Matter, global protests demanding equity)
Neurotechnology (brain-computer interfaces blurring human/machine boundaries)
Existential angst (loneliness epidemics, Gen Z’s “permacrisis” mindset)
These forces aren’t just changing the world—they’re reshaping what it means to be human. Evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson notes that our species’ survival has always hinged on adaptation, but today’s velocity leaves us breathless.
SO WHAT: Crisis as 危机 (Wēijī)
The Chinese word for crisis, 危机 (wēijī), merges 危 (wēi) - “danger”and 机 (jī) - “opportunity” or “pivotal moment.” It’s not a duality but a dance.
Danger is clear: planetary boundaries fraying, AI ethics in freefall, democracies wobbling.
Opportunity? It’s quieter. A whisper in the storm: This chaos is the birth canal.
Consider humanity’s past pivots:
The Agricultural Revolution (we learned to plant seeds amid scarcity).
The Enlightenment (reason emerged from superstition).
The Internet Age (connection bloomed from isolation).
Each crisis forged a new “us.”
NOW WHAT: The Color of Emergence
If “Mu” is achromatic, today’s world is prismatic - a fractured light waiting to coalesce.
Think of our species’ 300,000-year journey: fire, language, art, rockets. Each leap began with a crisis. Homo sapiens didn’t dominate by strength but by adaptability—by turning “Mu moments” into meaning.
Here’s the invitation to us all:
1. Stop. Breathe. The world’s noise drowns intuition.
2. Look. See the patterns: AI could uplift billions or entrench bias. Climate collapse could unite us or doom us. The choice is collective.
3. Listen. To the Earth’s feverish sighs. To the teenager coding in Thailand. To your own heartbeat.
The “color of now” isn’t a single hue. It’s the gold of dawn meeting the storm’s gray a canvas we paint together.
Zen teaches that “Mu” isn’t an answer but a mirror. When my teacher asks, “What is the color of Mu?” I now reply: “The color of a question mark.”
Because today’s crises are asking us: Will we fragment or evolve?
The good news? We’ve done this before. From cave to cosmos, we’ve turned peril into potential. The color of now isn’t fixed—it’s a gradient, shifting with every act of courage, every stubborn act of hope.
So, what’s your color today?
- Susan Grace Rivera
Posted: April 25, 2025
We invite you to be a TLC Community Member!
You can learn more and subscribe here: https://www.thetlcsolution.com/registration-page!
