Some of my Radical Reflections today.
None of what we experience today is new.
There were dozens of complex civilizations before.
Ascending and collapsing. Ascending and collapsing.
The causes of those collapses show a pattern.
We could look and learn from this.
We as humans are great organizers and creators.
So great, that we even know how to bring ourselves down.
I believe, we do this because of amnesia.
Who am I? This thing I call “I” does not remember.
Where do I come from? This thing I call “I” does not remember.
Why am I here? Again, this thing we call “I” does not remember.
A powerful narrative helps us to not remember.
I am separate from You.
You are separate from Me.
We are separate from nature.
Collectively, we tell ourselves:
“This time we can bypass the fate of all the other civilizations before us.”
“This time, our intelligence is superior.”
“This time, we are at the height of evolution.”
“This time, never-ending growth must be possible.”
“This time, we can bend the laws of the Universe.”
If you, like me, are asking yourself: how can we be so arrogant, so blind?
I’ll say: it’s because we have to.
Staying blind and separate from everyone and everything else is a necessary prerequisite to keep destroying it.
How else could we stay numb to the pain we inflict upon ourselves when destroying that which is us?
How can we acknowledge what we actually know?
Could it be our habit of Hope that is getting in the way of seeing clearly what’s happening?
I grew up in Germany and remember feeling that something was off or wrong in my country.
I learned about The Cold War.
I learned about East Germany, saw towers, fences, the wall.
All of it seemed wrong to me, and I could not understand any of it.
I tried to explain to myself what happened in Germany.
I ask myself: how can I learn from this?
How do I become a warrior for the human spirit?
What questions do you ask yourself?