Yesterday, when I stood in front of the window of a large store, I suddenly realized the following:
“Between dreams and reality, it is unevenly distributed.”
How wonderful it is that we, as humans, can dream away so beautifully in our thoughts—that we can even think about our own thoughts. According to many scientists, this is a huge difference between humans and animals on our planet. Animals only react from their instincts.
If I am to believe those same scientists, we, like the animals around us, also followed our instincts in earlier times. But what do you do with your instincts now? Or do you follow your reason much more these days?
Did you know that we humans only started using our minds more during the Enlightenment? This was an intellectual and philosophical movement that took place mainly in Europe in the 18th century. This period, also known as the Age of Reason, emphasized the use of reason, rationalism, and empiricism, which led to major changes in society.
The Enlightenment was a reaction to the centuries before, during which the authority of the Church and the State was often indisputable. Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and Montesquieu advocated the separation of powers and the idea that the State is at the service of the citizens—not the other way around.
Wonderful to think that the above was the reason we started using our minds more. We all became more rational; the observations we made and our experiences became much more important. We became—and felt ourselves becoming—more important as individuals. There was more recognition for our feelings; we felt we gained more rights. We believed that through our minds we could make much more progress, which would allow us to create a better world.
The ideas that came to us at that time had a great influence on various areas of life. Some fields that were profoundly changed included politics, science, and art. All these changes, and the possibilities that people began to recognize as a result, transformed society as a whole.
Revolts arose among “the rabble,” which the aristocrats of the time could no longer suppress—think of the French Revolution (1789–1799). Tens of thousands of people were killed, mainly due to political violence and executions. Estimates of the number of victims vary, but are often around 40,000 or more—including the execution of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, who went under the guillotine and lost their heads.
When I think back on all this in my mind, I believe we are—now, in our time—at a similar point. In my opinion, fewer and fewer people are being bullied by the “rulers” of our time. It seems as if a new era of “awakening” has arisen. To me, it feels as though more and more people in this world are reawakening.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) was already speaking of the awakening of man to the Übermensch—a person who, in his opinion, could handle much more, would be far more unruly, and would possess much more knowledge. One of his early pupils and followers was the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961), who, in turn, was a follower of Sigmund Freud (1856–1936), a neurologist from Austria-Hungary. Jung also foresaw this development in humans but expected it would take some time. Yet now, a little more than sixty years after Jung’s death, I see a clear movement in the development of humanity.
In my opinion, there are still many “followers” in our time—people who believe that the governments of the countries they live in have their best interests at heart. These governments continue to call for understanding and tolerance. But it is becoming increasingly clear that many people today want more in their lives—and especially more from their lives. They see the bumbling of politicians and leaders in their environment more and more clearly.
Many people who are “awakening” are now clearly recognizing what they are missing due to the incompetence of their so-called leaders. Our world is changing at an ever-increasing pace. The development of mankind in the 18th century, which I mentioned earlier, was in all probability a positive one—but where is it leading us?
Instinct, feeling, and reason continue to carry us forward, but at what cost? A new revolution, and many new victims? Or will we, as humanity, be able to realize that the world belongs to all of us—and that we can combine both feeling and reason into a tool we use together to give humanity a better experience: more equality, more compassion, more humanity? Semper Simul (always together).
Unfortunately, there are still too many people at the moment who are awakened, yet take advantage of the “sleeping” state of the rest of the population—so they can disproportionately benefit from the current situation. I wonder what will happen to the world when those benefits disappear.
