“A Merry Requiem To An Old World” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “A Merry Requiem to an Old World”

The old world has died, and I couldn’t be happier. Everything we’ve known will not be the same: relationships between couples, children, workplaces, international relations, everything will change. The ego that reigned in all those contacts is dying, smothered by recurring lockdowns and other fetters imposed on it by a virus.

Humanity is chanting a requiem to the old world, and I am cheering for the new one to come. I have been waiting for it for decades, and now it is finally arriving. Naturally, it is not an easy transition. There will be many pangs and pains along the way, but any person who understands like me that the world to come will be governed by love and mutual responsibility is very happy these days.

Once we are free from the chains of egoism, we will understand what freedom really means. Every person will not only be able, but encouraged to develop one’s potential to the fullest. Society will actively support each person in fulfilling one’s dreams, as the realization of these dreams will contribute to society, make it richer, more united, and more vibrant.

The first stages are already happening: No jobs are coming instead of the ones that have faded, and more and more people are realizing that the coronavirus is not a crisis; it’s a transformation. They are recognizing that they won’t only have to change their jobs, or even careers. They are realizing that they will have to change their entire lives.

But even this is still only part of the truth. The whole truth is that they will have to transform how they think about life. People will learn to perceive everything differently: themselves, other people, and their relationships with other people and the world.

Instead of an individualistic, self-centered perspective, where each person cares only about oneself and (in the best case scenario) about one’s loved ones, people will transcend their egos and form a realm where every person is equally important, equally contributing, and equally caring about everyone else.

People will develop group consciousness that will override the individualistic one. That group consciousness will determine what happens in their lives, rather than the ego, which knows only how to fight for survival until it loses and we give up on life. There will be no losers in the approaching world, since winning will mean making everyone feel valuable, worthy, deserving, or in short, happy.

Material worries will be people’s least concern. Machines can do these jobs better than humans, so why should humans trouble themselves with them? People will be concerned with building the new society, something that only humans can do.

Everything we know today, and which is based on restraining the ego, will change dramatically. Law, education, the job market, healthcare, housing, every realm where we currently express our egos will be revolutionized as we will use our skills to express concern for others.

If we feel resentment when we think about such a world, it is our ego that resents it. Once we are free from the chains of egoism, we will understand what freedom really means. Every person will not only be able, but encouraged to develop one’s potential to the fullest. Society will actively support each person in fulfilling one’s dreams, as the realization of these dreams will contribute to society, make it richer, more united, and more vibrant.

Vast amounts of energy and funds will become available, since they are currently tied up by authorities that have to keep our reckless egos at bay. But when we work for the benefit of society, these entities will not be needed, and the abundant human and monetary resources dedicated to keeping them running will be at the service of society.

We have no idea how much wealth humanity produces. Every person produces each day several times over what he or she consumes. Currently, that surplus goes to the state and the wealthy. But COVID is forcing everyone to act more socially; it will teach everyone that unless everyone is happy, no one will be happy.

In fact, we can accelerate the oncoming of the transformation through simple and helpful exercises. For example, if we start wearing masks not in order to avoid catching the virus, but to avoid transmitting it, it will already create a shift in our perception of the world. This is just an example, a first step, but as the saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Humanity has seen plenty a revolution in its time, but it has never seen a transformation. We are the first generation that gets to morph into a new being—kinder, wiser, better.