"We have to go back to our roots, to our ancestors, to our spiritual teachers, and to our true nature in order to find healing." —Thich Nhat Hanh
After returning from The Conference in Malmö, Sweden, I spent a quiet, slow weekend, both letting the ideas of the two days marinate, and preparing my mind, heart, and logistics for my upcoming three-week solo trip to China and Plum Village Thailand, a monastic practice center, nestled at the edge of Khao Yai National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site outside of Bangkok, and part of the global community founded by Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh.
Although it isn’t really a coming back to China, as I was born and raised in Germany, it still feels like a return to tending to my roots. I’m going without expectations and simply look forward to letting myself be, from the vibrant life in Shanghai over Guilin, Guangxi, to Kunming, Yunnan. I cannot describe how much I miss being close to nature.
At The Conference, I had the privilege of engaging with an incredible array of minds—temporalists, design researchers, tech critics, entrepreneurs, thinkers, and doers—who explored what it means to live in deep connection with ourselves, each other, and the all of life around us.
As summer winds down in the Northern Hemisphere and many of us prepare to return to work—and business—I wanted to share a part of my talk that delves into how our culture of business (and busyness) is a key driver of the loneliness crisis:
We’ve been conditioned to believe that more time spent at work equates to higher productivity, which in turn allows us to accumulate social and financial capital. This accumulation is often perceived as power and freedom, validated by others, and reinforcing our sense of self-worth and identity. However, this cycle traps us in a loop where our value is measured by external, short-term gains rather than intrinsic, long-lasting, genuine flourishing. This has led to a neoliberal capitalist system that is crumbling from the inside, as we witness staggering burnout rates, quiet quitting, and loneliness at work.
From our urban environments to our digital culture around social media and AI, and obsession with work and productivity, we’ve created a world that values separation over connection, individualism over relationships, and independence over interdependence.
Yes, loneliness is a crisis, but it might also hold a piece of wisdom that reveals what we’ve tried to ignore for too long.
How might we reconnect with our innate capacities to care, connect, and return to making relationships the center of our lives and world?
This theme of returning and reconnecting—rather than innovating and solutionizing—was echoed throughout The Conference.
Temporalist Gustavo Nogueira de Menezes, for instance, illustrated the concept of non-linear, interconnected time through the shape of a torus (see photo)—a powerful reminder that progress isn’t always about moving forward. Sometimes, it’s about circling back—reconnecting with what is most fundamental to our being. This perspective challenges the relentless pursuit of progress and productivity that dominates much of our work culture today.
Ecologist and ornithologist Seán Ronayne, who made us all fall in love with birds, offered an awe-inspiring example of how we might rewild our senses. His work in recording Ireland’s natural soundscapes reminds us that the natural world holds wisdom and beauty we often overlook. Seán’s infectious dedication to capturing the voices of now-rare bird species urges us to listen deeply—to nature, to ourselves, and to the connections that sustain us. After his talk, I was left deeply moved—something I might not have assumed about a topic like birds (oblivious me :).
Yet, in contrast to appreciating the wondrous murmurations of the sky, most of us are still working within a system where work is not just a means to an end but has become an end in itself—a place where many of us seek our purpose, identity, and validation, often at the expense of our health and happiness.
But what if we could step out of this cycle and embrace a different way of living and working? This is where the wisdom of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) offers a powerful alternative, as Superflux co-founder Anab Jain referenced in her talk in which she urged us to expand our sense of self towards an "ecological spirituality." This idea aligns closely with the need to move beyond the Anthropocene, to de-center our human obsessions and return to a humble reverence for the non-human world.
Coincidentally, I recently listened to a podcast episode with Dr. Julia Kim, a global well-being expert and program director at the GNH Centre in Bhutan, who explained that Bhutan has chosen to prioritize the well-being and happiness of its people and environment over mere economic growth. GNH is built on the understanding that true happiness and flourishing arise from living in harmony with nature, fostering strong community connections, and nurturing our inner wisdom.
Contrast this with the false promises of our current work culture: the idea that more work, more productivity, and more accumulation will lead to fulfillment. In reality, this relentless pursuit often leads to disconnection—from ourselves, from each other, and the world around us. Bhutan’s approach challenges us to return to what we know is at the essence of our individual and shared life: relationships and community.
“True abiding happiness cannot exist while others suffer, and comes only from serving others, living in harmony with nature, and coming to know our innate wisdom and the true and brilliant nature of our own minds.”
—Julia Kim
At The Conference, Nipun Mehta’s work with ServiceSpace further reinforced this idea. Nipun challenges us to rethink wealth and capital, introducing the concept of “kindness capital” or “community capital” as alternatives to the transactional nature of modern economies. He emphasizes that everyone is capable of giving and that we can all be great at giving. By shifting from transactions to relationships, we can create wealth that is rooted not in financial gain but in the strength of our connections with one another.
’s framework of “soil, self, and sky” also underscores the need to decenter human design by acknowledging the importance of non-human values and the wisdom of those who are different from us. His call to consider geological and racial traumas, alongside the wisdom embedded in indigenous traditions, invites us to return to a more balanced, holistic way of living—one that honors the cycles of nature and the interconnectedness of all beings.Back at our workplaces, we are confronted with a choice: continue in the cycle of external validation and short-term gains, or begin to shift towards a model that values connection, well-being, and genuine human flourishing. The rising shared loneliness is not only a crisis; it’s also a gifts, revealing the cracks in a system that no longer serves us.
It invites us to reconsider how we live and work and to reconnect with our innate capacities to care, connect, and recognize the true value of relationships.
Bhutan’s GNH framework offers practical insights into how this shift might look. For example, GNH emphasizes the importance of community vitality—the idea that our well-being is deeply tied to the strength of our relationships and the health of our communities. This is a stark contrast to the individualistic focus of many workplaces, where success is often measured by personal achievement rather than collective well-being. By fostering a workplace culture that values collaboration, support, and mutual care, we can begin to break free from the cycle of burnout and rediscover the joy of meaningful work.
Furthermore, GNH highlights the importance of time use—recognizing that how we spend our time is a critical component of our overall happiness. In a culture that glorifies busyness and overwork, Bhutan’s emphasis on balance serves as a reminder that productivity should not come at the expense of our health and relationships. Instead, we can strive to create work environments that respect boundaries, encourage rest, and prioritize time spent with loved ones.
Ultimately, Bhutan’s approach to well-being is a powerful antidote to the false promises of our current (work) culture. It challenges us to rethink our values and priorities and to create systems that truly support human flourishing.
As you return to work, or seek new opportunities this season, give yourself the gift of a pause, a deeper inquiry, and a curious glance up at what life is all around you.
Perhaps, a bit like Hirayama in Wim Wender’s exceptional, countercultural movie, Perfect Days, who reminds us:
Kondo wa kondo. Ima wa ima—今度は今度。今は今
Next time is next time, now is now.
Then, we might begin to return from loneliness to oneliness, where we recognize that we are not alone, but all one.
A heartfelt thank you to the Media Evolution team, volunteers, partners, and the wonderful people of Malmö for making The Conference 2024 a memorable moment.
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PS. I may or may not write during my travels, I’ll leave it to the now moment ;)
In the meantime, I had the pleasure of sharing a conversation on the Beauty at Work podcast, hosted by sociologist Brandon Vaidyanathan, together with my friend Ron Ivey, managing director of the Humanity 2.0 Institute and research fellow at the Harvard Flourishing Program. Let me know how it resonates!
Other than that, take a look at the Humanize program I’m teaching from October and get in touch if you’re interested to join! Also, I might see you at UNFINISHED Festival in Bucharest, Romania, the Society 5.0 Festival in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, or TEDxPotsdam later this season.
Until next time,
Monika
My goodness, what an inspirational event this must have been! Such stellar constellation of minds on stage (and off stage, I am sure). There's so much confluence between these diverse ideas. Congrats on your participation, and wishing you stillness at your upcoming retreat :)!