Dimitris Bakas: Creative sadness as a virtue
Preamble. Sadness is a sign of mental poverty. An unpleasant feeling of helplessness, anorexia and insecurity. Everything seems indifferent to us. We live in an unbearable acedia. The opposite of joy, optimism, fulfillment and happiness. We feel a dead end. We feel that we do not love anything and anyone. Not even ourselves. The abundance of sadness has devastating consequences. Dejection, melancholy and depression. Serious mental illness. And not infrequently fatal. In short, our being is disturbed and we do not have the guidance of our actions.And yet there is a sadness is necessary in our lives. Sadness that constitutes virtue, as long as we don't exceed our limits and don't ignore it.
Introduction
We are forced to live constantly in a marginal critical phase. This is what science teaches us. Nature and all life always operates on a threshold. self-organizing criticality. What we perceive is nothing but a discrete balance, of all the factors that influence it. When there are no cohesive forces of the parts, dissolution occurs. The cohesive forces always emerge from the internal reactions, interactions between opposing parts, but with the condition that the optimal measure is not exceeded, which when exceeded death is fatalThe same danger exists in the existence of our Homeland.
Creative Sadness
There is always a limit to our resistance to sadness. This limit varies according to our personal inner strength to deal with difficulties and depends on our upbringing and life experiences. We will definitely encounter problems in front of us, so we try to acquire stable (values) and virtues in our behavior living in an ever-changing environment.
We say creative sadness and, perhaps, it surprises. And yet all of us humans can be creative. We usually believe that only a few are gifted and creative. In fact, artists, as they are called, have a special gift of sensitivity and an emotion is aroused within them that gives us the impression that it brings us into contact with some hidden aspect of reality. Creativity, however, It emerges in all people in moments of inner awareness of contact with the experience of truth. Such a moment is the critical moment of grief. The best use of it human creative intellect It is not done in art or science (researchers), but in our daily spontaneous actions, with which we shape ourselves , as a work of art and we maintain society.
Creative sadness is significantly different from pathological sadness. The depressed person does not know why they are depressed. In creative sadness, a will-power for energy and action emerges. A stubbornness. Depression is overwhelmed by emotion. Creative sadness is accompanied by σκέψη, which brings us closer to true knowledge. Or if you like, With the critical phase of grief we realize that we have come into contact with the truth. But in truth, no one can be imposed. The truth always imposes itself. We all submit to the truth.
Creativity is lost when we cling to what we are used to (literacy) and to illusions. The main characteristic of creativity is a feeling of freshness, because every time we enter into something new, we compare it with the old and choose the best. Because new does not always mean better. The right choice is always made after a creative dialogue between old and new. Sadness is a first-class reason for creativity, as long as we are open to the world around us and open to creativity to make our lives better. Age does not always play the main role. A continuous rejuvenation of our brain is always possible.
There is usually a moment when we realize that we are in an individual weakness that we do not understand. Of course we do not rejoice in the difficult situation, but also we are not reconciled with her. This is exactly what happens when we discover events that make us bitter, because we did not expect them, because we thought they did not deserve us. At this extreme point of sadness, the virtue of humility, which means we begin to love the truth, honestly, more than ourselves. Our arrogance is offset by the self knowledge, which limits our own possibilities. A sad knowledge, but more useful than a blissful ignorance or self-deception. An acceptance of ourselves without exaggeration. That is why it is virtue. This sadness we would say is a "nice"»(at her time) affliction! It's made of creative sadness and we believe it can be for our good.
Comment
In recent years, a series of such events have occurred in our country. We are indeed sad, but this does not mean that we are all depressed. A bitterness emerges within us, because we could have been better. This sadness seems to be shared by a huge percentage (over 70%) of our compatriots. A widespread complaint has drowned them, because they consider something unjust that they believed for so many years was theirs, and now they are sharing it with others. And the reactions are reasonable and acceptable, when they are within the limits of legality. We are unable to express ourselves for the reasons that those who agree have, and perhaps we do not know them. a priori with the agreement that grants our data, but we can say with certainty that we possess this precisely the sadness. We believed we deserved something better.
It is a sadness of the same nature that we feel when we hear in international statistics that our country always occupies one of the last places on the planet. in critical dimensions. Is it possible for a genuine Greek not to be sad, when in delinquency, in arbitrariness, in pessimism for the future, in lack of respect for the Institutions... we hold the negative primacy? And the worst thing is that we perceive this behavior of ours, out of self-deception, as democracy, freedom, equality! We consider this not at all honorable way of thinking, feeling and acting as a basic characteristic of our cultural identity!
Exactly the opposite happens in real life. We all meet young and middle-aged people every day with positive mood for life in contrast to those flooded with apathy and despair. There are among us older people who consider themselves, perhaps, redeemed. Even, sometimes, we meet distinguished personalities with invaluable work in our Homeland and yet they feel such degradation that they do not hope ... for anything good!. They claim that this Country has no future! Allow us to disagree with them. Life has always been difficult with the positive and negative elements in our Society. Mistakes have always been made, even disastrous ones, but there have always been some positive feedback emerged. Something new was born out of sorrow. A force arose from the ashes of the old and the evil. Something new took the place of the old. This is precisely the method of constant renewal that life has chosen. Death is the end, but also the beginning of life. The seed is destroyed to give what it has to offer to new life..
The decline of the parent means the rise of the offspring. Out of love, the parent forgives his half-learned offspring and out of love, he distances himself to give him "space" to develop his potential. However, he must not give up on life until his last breath. How wonderful it is, indeed, for every person to feel that he is useful, beneficial and, in some way, necessary to others until the end of his life and even beyond! This is necessary for him too, because he does not feel rejected and feels that he is still worth something. He is not satisfied with what he has offered, but continues to offer. And indeed, one has a lot to offer, until the end of his life.He just needs to discover his creative way of participating in life.
How much are the many experiences of our life worth, which constitute a priceless treasure? Every mistake, every experience, every achievement and every failure of life constitutes a precious stone in the edifice of the next fellow human being. It is a nugget of "wisdom" necessary to strengthen the young. In this way, he will make the fewest mistakes and achieve better results in his life. The purpose of life is not to forget the old, which is bad, but to keep it in memory as a signpost for our own wisdom. The successful example has the same value, and even more. The example of the teacher is the only way of teaching. We all must be teachers. Treatment is no longer imposed only by force. In the early stages and in selected cases, perhaps, it is rarely required.
Η love towards the young must flood the hearts of the older ones. Let us put ourselves in their shoes with our own empathy. Let us inspire them with our sincerity and our example of trust and then those younger ones will definitely seek us out, because we will be necessary for them. Young people all want their own good. What does it matter if a number of young people have been taught messages that were not appropriate and turned them in another direction? Who among us, after all, is certain that his own path in life is the safest, since we can neither know nor impose ourselves on events as they unfold without being asked. However, we all have the ability to prepare ourselves for the worst. To equip ourselves with virtues, with patience and perseverance, so as to reduce the chances of failure. Let us teach our children that always, but always, difficult situations are coming. There is no invisible hand to help us if we ourselves do not take action.
Conclusions
When we realize that we live in a chaotic environment, which we can neither predict nor exercise absolute control over, the least we can do as humans (mortals) is to feel a humilityHonesty and humility are twins. Every knowledge is a blow against narcissism From creative sadness emerges an enormous power to transcend ourselves and harmonize not passively but mainly positively with the environment. Because we are closer to the truth.
In this critical period that our Homeland is going through, we must declare holistic mobilization of our forces . When are we not in crisis? Only when we are in self-deception. The crisis is, within life itselfLet us not confuse individual intense crises (e.g. economic ones) with the constant self-organized criticality with which the lives of individuals and peoples proceed and we do not perceive it, because we consider it linear normality.
We believe that, regardless of the actions taking place during this period, especially on issues of a political-national nature, which we embrace, as long as they are within the framework of legality and kept at a safe distance from the extremes of violence, which only cause harm, a force is required exceeding, which can emerge from the almost total creative sadness we feel. As long as we don't leave it untapped and it fades away. Let's proceed to a Panhellenic national vigilance convinced that we have been confronted with the harsh, real truth. The reason for the proposal was the dark thought that if we do not overcome the current situation with holistic creativity in a few years it will be more difficult and, perhaps, irreversible.
We can, at this time, fix the spiritual stature of Eternal Greece. A cultural and not only national defense and counterattack. Our superiority in the Greek way of thinking, feeling and acting.. To highlight and prove what we superficially consider to be self-evident: That we are the genuine descendants of the Ancient Greeks (and of course the Macedonians). Not just saying it, but also proving it in practice every day.
That oneς, our chosen Ancestors, no one on the Planet doubts that they were the light-bearers of the Universe, of human thought and humanity. Why humanization of man was essentially carried out with the brilliant unique spirit of the Civilization of classical timesWe are their true descendants. Not only in words, but also in our essence. Our language, our education, our being, our thought have the elements of the uninterrupted continuity of our origin, as they have evolved in the flow of history and been enriched or harmonized with the developments of the life of humanity. To acquire an identity of our own, without this meaning that we are not integrated into the modern environment. Let's say, having critical consciousness: no to the excess of simianism and copying. There is always a distinct and legible personality of every people. We have our own.
But this is not enough. We need to create a a modern Homeland on par with the advanced Nations of the Earth. To have self-reliant progress, to be self-organized, creative, progressive and which inspires the younger generation and gives optimism in itself. A Homeland equal in harmony with what it historically deserves.
This is our direct work.The idea that "others won't let us" is not true, because it is an excuse that suits us. The sadness we feel must be transformed into stubbornness, into a will for energy and action. Action by all of us, or at least a large critical mass.
Our young people are not excused for abstinence, nor are we, the older ones, for inaction. We have a rough idea of what we should do, but the most difficult thing is to will for its realization. If we do not start now, perhaps tomorrow will be too late. The sadness for the failures we have felt in recent years, which are repetitive and painful, have brought us closer to the harsh truth. Have we acquired the right knowledge? A kind of wisdom for actions and deeds and a tremendous strength of will must emerge because of the beneficial sadness that we feel at this moment.
Fortunately, and that's why we are optimistic, there are on the one hand the our young people ,who are flooded with pure emotion. ΝPeople who long for their family, but work countless hours at their job to properly and economically build a house, to present a quality development program or cultural-informational initiative, or to bring new ideas for crop development or to present original ideas in new fields. These young people are the hope of our Nation. To them we must add all our brilliant children who have gained the right experience of progress abroad. We would also say the Greek children of our Diaspora everywhere. All together!
On the other hand the older ones are always available, who despite decades of experience behind them, with youth mentality, feeling the weight of responsibility from the wisdom of life, they lead us with the magnificent example them and give us optimism by living with composure and sobriety in an environment that does not only bring joy. This has a special value. And if the numbers are negative, the Qualitative superiority will certainly yield a positive result.
Epilogue
Despite the fact that the greatest harm is caused by the unilateral satisfaction of the interests of individuals or organized subgroups. Despite the insurmountable difficulties in changing the mentality of a comfortable life with minimal effort and despite the orientation towards specialized education, which aims at acquiring qualifications with which young people will compete with their neighbors, we must once again seek the human being through the Holistic Education, which has this purpose it is of man. Otherwise, people will drown in depression in the name of a supposed progress, because they will live in self-deception due to selfishness, which is the source of injustice.
Let's not forget that The deeper the sadness we feel, the greater the strength to exert, Just like a spring, the more it is compressed, the greater the ejection force it develops, as long as it does not exceed the breaking point. Let us raise and project in all directions a cultural pulse and spirit. Let Let's extend a hand of cooperation to our neighbor. Let Let us all build our modern Homeland together, a pioneering Member of the International Community.
Within the framework of our objectives, we will immediately inaugurate a expanded creative dialogue with our young people, using every appropriate means, in the form that the ARK OF HOLISTIC EDUCATION has already inaugurated.
We hope for the broad participation of young and old, so that beyond the benefit of those who take part, new ideas and proposals useful to those responsible for decision-making can be derived in a methodical, gentle and diligent manner..
Dimitris K. Bakas
June 2018