We are already in the first quarter of the 21st century, and the world that the “New Order of Things” promised us is setting at a crashing speed. The political, economic and social structures that were considered paradise are now revealed as the scenery of a poorly made play. The institutions have failed. They sold us a nightmare for a dream. And we, eager for convenience, bought it. The criminal global political scene, the technological traps, the artificial global crises, all create an environment of virtual reality. Is it possible for an unprepared person to discern at the fork in life, the path of Virtue?
However, like everything in nature, this is part of the natural cycle. There is no death without rebirth, there is no end without a new beginning.
It is inevitable that a new world will rise, and with every birth a new hope is born. But no birth occurs without labor. Without pain. This transition requires us to be ready. Just as the farmer prepares the field before sowing, so too must we prepare for the future. Let us take care of the soil. It is what we have. Let us plow the troubled land, so that it becomes fertile again. This means leaving behind old ideas that do not serve us, embracing the new dawn and trusting in the creative power of life. The metaphor of plowing is profound: effort, pain and work are the foundations of every rebirth. We cannot expect fruit without first sowing the seeds.
And what are these seeds? Our dreams, our ambitions, our values. “Let us sow our dreams to reap Magic!” Magic, according to Plato, is the relationship with the Gods. Let us work on our connection with the higher, the divine. Let us cast off the charming cynicism. Let us love the ability to see the miracle in life, to create, transform and bless the world with our actions.
So let us be optimistic, as befits our philosophy and ideology. If optimism is perhaps naivety, pessimism is certainly a slow poison and an admission of defeat, but optimism is the conscious choice to see beyond the difficulties. Let us plow the troubled land so that it becomes fertile again.
The unprepared man will take the blows and will complain, he will be indignant, because he has not learned to endure productively. “Men who hurt but do not suffer” as Pavlos Melas used to say. This is the path. On the contrary, the one who has been prepared sees every challenge as a step towards evolution. In the 21st century, where changes are rapid and violent, preparation becomes even more important (please also read the analysis titled “Preparing for Life’s Challenges“).
Let us not fear the future. Let us face it with courage, with a hunger for learning and with faith that, as always in human history, Harmony can be reborn from its ashes. The Magic of life is here – in our hands to cultivate it.
“Succeed where you cannot”
Nikos Kazantzakis
