It sometimes seems that wherever one looks there is fear, greed and suffering. They seem to be our main drivers. How then should anyone hope and strive for something meaningful? What even is meaningful?
A low-bar, one would think, would be to make net positive contribution to the world. It admittedly might sound somewhat utilitarian but it doesn’t have to be. It might also be deontological, recognising the fact that we as flawed human beings rarely live up to philosophic ideals but should still try to act morally — as far as we master. But then, how is all this compatible with a society that sees, by law, the rights and freedoms of the individuals as the greatest good to protect? Isn’t this directly promoting egocentric behaviour if we place so much weight on the individual, and so little on how our behaviour affects others? How can we build a better society that transcends fear, greed and suffering?
These questions weigh particularly on me these days, having undergone quite a few unexpected turns of events, in work, in friendship, and in love. They all, sadly, have been very much outside my ability to act. I try my very best to do unto others, every day, but sometimes that’s not enough. Sometimes the world out there has a will on its own. Probably rather most of the time. A true lesson in acceptance.
At the root of these turns, it seems to me is the heavy weight of the world and its injustice that we carry, thereby causing illness and nurturing abuse. And the more I hear about the experiences of others, the more I think that these issues are systemic. For many, there doesn’t seem to be any place where one can feel fully safe. Isn’t this a poor record for a society that is allegedly so advanced and civilised? Are we any better than our forefathers?
In the past, everything used to be better? That’s hard to believe. The Second World War, just as the extreme famines across Europe under Soviet rule or the atrocities committed across much of Asia (Great Chinese Famine, Nanjing, Partition of India, Khmer Rouge, …) and Africa (Herero and Nama, Rwanda, Tigray, Congo Wars, …) leading to millions of deaths, must have caused great trauma to our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
I’ve not made up my mind about whether intergenerational trauma exists. Especially as an adult, you can only blame your parents so much for your own behaviour. This is especially true since we have undergone millions of years of evolution and hardship. Hunger and death used to be constant companions. They’ve mostly disappeared from the rich world, with many of us living long and physically healthy lives.
Those who made it through the Colosseum of evolution surely have an immense ability to heal and overcome suffering. Under the motto of making a net positive contribution, we may even have a duty to make use of that ability, and strive to heal, and to overcome suffering. The late Jimmy Carter probably would’ve agreed, having fought so hard, his entire life, to do good unto others.
(Note that I am not claiming that suffering in itself is a bad thing, just that it shouldn’t be imposed on others without a good reason.)
I have always been an optimist and remain to be. I’ve had a good, and relatively privileged life without so much of that hardship that many others have gone through. But these days, I am an optimist with a heavy heart. How could one not be with the world, literally and figuratively seeming everywhere on fire at all times?
2024 was an odd year, for me anyway, for many reasons. I remain thrilled for the prospects of 2025, a newborn year still full of hopes and dreams. Let’s rock ‘n’ roll.