These days we hear a lot about incentivising people out of work to “contribute to society”.
But who “contributes to society”?
Take a commercial executive rushing from meeting to meeting with fifty calls on his mobile phone in between. What does he accomplish? Higher sales for his company perhaps.
But sales of what? Pesticides, tax and legal services, luxury housing, GM seeds, vaccines, armoured vehicles…?
Or take a recluse monk spending most of his day in silent meditation. What does he produce?
Vibrations of serenity, thoughts of peace and compassion?
What does the output of these two contribute to society?
And, by the way, what does society contribute to the world? Beauty, dignity, peace, harmony?
Ooh, but everything is called into question here.
Yeap.
That’s what an unprecedented global crisis makes unavoidable: calling into question the very bases of society’s thinking habits.
It is not the end of the world, just a big step up on the spiritual ladder.
Fear not, and listen to Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam.
Love,
Leo.
Leo Foresta 