
There is an old Chinese Taoist curse: "may you live in interesting times". In this there is allot to learn, above all Taoists value simplicity and modesty. A person who lives in interesting times easily looses both simplicity and humility both which are believed by Taoists to be essential for good fortune and happiness.
Today we live in a chaos of individuality, balkanization of ideology, gender conflicts, ethnicity conflicts, socioeconomic conflicts, political intrigue, distrust of government and its citizens, religious wars, and an existential crisis in each of us that is spanning across the nations of the world. People are questioning the status quo, rejecting old ways, demanding new customs, or reviving old ways, proclaiming new ideas, finding new sources of collectivity and unity, while others are rejecting any questioning of it thereof. Some are waiting for the end of the world, and others scoff at the idea entirely. Some believe in technology some believe in God while others seek to destroy everything in the name of it. Indeed it can be said today we "live in interesting times".
Now is a time of expanding knowledge and increasing stress on this planet, national or cultural independence is altogether dissolving. As time continues we find that working together is the only way to survive in the current global situation. Communication is increasing while time and space is decreasing, as we each get busier and live in smaller plots of land. Our foods are being re-engineered by geneticists to the dismay of some, and to the great benefit of others. Information on what is good and what isn't - are surfacing from one corner of society contradicting the other corner. Propaganda, disinformation, misinformation, bias, and the uninformed reduce information circulating to the level of rumor and gossip. No longer is there a consensus or an agreed upon imperative, all while there appears to be a deepening crisis.
On the surface "may you live in interesting times" seems neutral or benign. However the Taoists found that it is in these times that the tumult in society and turmoil within the person is at it's highest. The seductive draw of interesting times pulls a person into a sea of chaos of conflict and contradiction. Such a fate to befall someone at the wishes of another is indeed a wish for harm. Interesting times bring many choices and many things forward to consider; to be in such times is to have many occasions for choice and opportunity. While we value our freedom to choose in the modern world, a plethora of choices can swamping and stunt the clarity of a person for what would be otherwise simple even progress.
This is the challenge however that my and recent generations has inherited, to live in strange and interesting times of ever increasing complexity. We indeed face more harmful influences and pitfalls than conceivable by a person of just two generations ago. Furthermore while young and most vulnerable we are fated to make our way across this raging river of these new arising novelties. As we walk in uncharted territory the challenges before us are unlike those of our ancestors. With more to inherit from our elders, more distractions, and more complexities to sort through ere recorded history, the generations of late face pressures nearly incomprehensible - especially amongst themselves. Obliged to carry on the momentum of change and progress - what is it we are to advance towards? With humanity up to our necks in dangers from all corners, what is the imperative?
Everything appears to be being knitted together: cultures, nations, ethnicities, old and new ways, religion and ideologies. No longer can we stand divided over superficial differences in the person. While it is important to maintain our heritages and what makes us individuals, the beauty of diversity can only be preserved and maintained in the context of unity. Thus what is needed is a deeper connection to what is essential to all mankind, independent from all political or social structures. âWhile the political structures change, as do nations, the life of man with its needs remains eternally the same - this cannot be changedâ (I - Ching or Book of Changes, Wilhelm/Baynes Translation). While each nation brings forth their own forms, the fundamental foundations of what nourishes all cultures and all nations lies in common.
This alone can reorder the disunity and folly amongst the peoples. For those who have superficially not considered the deepest needs of all peoples cannot serve them. Dividing oneself into yet another small ideological group has run its limit - we've got divisions within divisions. We must for future generations prepare a more penetrating and profound model - not a model of superficial divisions, but one of a panacea of human diversity. Those separate factions dividing the fellowship of men must be alternately united at a stronger and deeper level. Only by tapping the source of our own nature to the real roots of humanity beyond the murmurs and the tumult of the times, can we go forth into the future without causing greater estrangement.
Therefore in these times of uncertainty, estrangement change and dissolution of the old boundaries what we must do is move towards a commonality that is not based on any race, religion, gender, national identity, class, ideology, age, or ethnicity. Indeed without need to destroy these diversities we can unify the people by finding what is most essential in all human beings. What is common in all people spans all ethnicities, all nationalities, all professions, genders, the old and the young, without undermining those proper differences themselves. Thus diversity and complexity while brining us into a crisis can also be an opportunity for reaching the essential. Good can come of it, and is up to generations of late to make this finally happen.
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