Sometimes it seems the world of politics is filled with corrupt, power hungry leaders looking out for their own interests and those close to them. They may spout religious values, but their actions often belie any sense of true spirituality.
So with the recent passing of Vaclan Havel, playwright and former president of the Czech Republic, it’s worth highlighting the words of a man who saw a greater vision than what we typically see among politicians.
Futurist Marcus Anthony, who calls Havel a ‘leader-sage,’ said this on his blog: “Havel epitomized three vital aspects of the human archetype: conscience, courage and compassion. These are three qualities that are badly needed in today’s world, in today’s leaders.”
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What makes the Anthropic Principle and the Gaia Hypothesis so inspiring? One simple thing: Both remind us, in modern language, of what we have long suspected, of what we have long projected into our forgotten myths and what perhaps has always lain dormant within us as archetypes. That is, the awareness of our being anchored in the earth and the universe, the awareness that we are not here alone nor for ourselves alone, but that we are an integral part of higher, mysterious entities against whom it is not advisable to blaspheme. This forgotten awareness is encoded in all religions. All cultures anticipate it in various forms. It is one of the things that form the basis of man’s understanding of himself, of his place in the world, and ultimately of the world as such.
A modern philosopher once said: “Only a God can save us now.”
Yes, the only real hope of people today is probably a renewal of our certainty that we are rooted in the earth and, at the same time, the cosmos. This awareness endows us with the capacity for self-transcendence. Politicians at international forums may reiterate a thousand times that the basis of the new world order must be universal respect for human rights, but it will mean nothing as long as this imperative does not derive from the respect of the miracle of Being, the miracle of the universe, the miracle of nature, the miracle of our own existence. Only someone who submits to the authority of the universal order and of creation, who values the right to be a part of it and a participant in it, can genuinely value himself and his neighbours, and thus honor their rights as well.
It logically follows that, in today’s Is multicultural world, the truly reliable path to coexistence, to peaceful coexistence and creative cooperation, must start from what is at the root of all cultures and what lies infinitely deeper in human hearts and minds than political opinion, convictions, antipathies, or sympathies–it must be rooted in self-transcendence:
Transcendence as a hand reached out to those close to us, to foreigners, to the human community, to all living creatures, to nature, to the universe.
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So where are the leaders of the western world who think like this? Who speak like this? Who believe this?
Glad more people are learning about him!
I’m surprised that no one has heard of Vaclav Havel before. He was my favourite world leader, up there with Nelson Mandela. A playwright dissident who went to prison and then became president after the Velvet Revolution. His thinking was so far advanced in comparison with most leaders. A part of me wanted to live in Prague in the early 90s when he was president and transitioning the country from communism. He appeared to be a man who was not easily corruptible, who lived his values, and who had a strong sense of destiny and his place in history.
Several years ago, I had was able to see one of his plays performed at a local college. It was “The Memoranda” about the absurdities of bureaucracy, which could apply to any bureaucracy, not just the communist one.
Our world definitely experienced a loss.
I would love to see one of his plays. Memoranda sounds like it’s right up my alley!
thanks so much for this post – now i will run not walk to learn more of this man from whom it seems there is/was so much to learn – and about whom i unfortunately have known too little –
We make a mistake if we expect our politicians to change things in the way they need to be changed – which is to see all things as being a vast web of interconnectedness. It is up to us to demand the changes. The pols will only follow – they are incapable of true leadership because they are self-motivated, and this paradigm shift demands one to be motivated towards the ALL.
so well said, nancy! indeed!
My great inspiration has often been the feminist theologian Catherine Keller, who using the myth of Penelope, wrote: “How would we live, how would we act, if we saw the world with a Webbed Vision?” By webbed vision, she meant a paradigm not of competition or heirarchy, but of relationships, an ever expanding ecology, a web of being, in which all participate, as Havel has written. And it is increasingly becoming evident within the sciences that this is the truth of things, whether we speak of an eco-system, quontum mechanics, or human consciousness. It’s our evolutionary challenge now, and it is good to hear an artist and a stateman speak thus. I’m sorry he’s left the world.
I don’t think “only a God can save the world now”. There are all kinds of gods that aren’t doing us much good at all, gods that take us away from the world and separate us from each other. I think that “webbed vision”, perhaps what he means by “self-transcendance” derives from realizing that we participate in the divine, that we are all “Relations”. I love the Lakota prayer “Mitakuye Oyasin.”
very very true that we are, ALL, relations – we are ALL connected – whether human or animal or plant or mineral or whatever form of existence – we ARE all connected – woven together in that webbed vision – beautiful comment, lauren –
I have never heard of this guy before,but speaking of Native Americans and indigenous peoples I’m heading up to the Woodford Folkfest tomorrow to see and listen to Buffy Sainte-Marie and other indigenous people from around the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_Sainte-Marie
This will be a meeting of lots of diverse cultures,all in the one spot trying to make the world that little bit better by networking ideas together…or connecting webs you might say.
I’ll be taking lots of photos.I can’t wait.
https://www.woodfordfolkfestival.com/
Sounds like fun! Hope you have lot of synchros…and let us in on them!
I had one involving Mike Perry’s Fox hunting post.
Just after I had commented there about the fox hunting story I went back to reading Rob’s book,”Psychic Power” just before going to bed.
And it was the pet telepathy chapter where Rob was sending out a message to his cat “Fox” that was missing for three days.
I went back this morning and commented about this sync to Mike.
Another kind of “Fox” hunt,I guess you could say .-)
Good one, Darren. And we just saw Spielberg’s new movie, War Horse, which included scenes inside foxholes during WWI.
I must admit I didn’t know very much about Vaclan Havel but thought of him as being a good man who was almost thrust into the public limelight. He sometimes looked awkward in the company of other leaders – maybe because he knew what they were ‘really’ like.
As to where the world leaders are to compare with him today – pass!