Jan Nicolaas Kind – Brazil
Olga ...
Olga is my youngest student. She lives in Resende-Brazil, is a brilliant young world citizen of 16, plays the piano, loves The Beatles, Lennon’s “In My Life” is her favorite, wants to become a pediatrician, is full of positive energy and has a fair idea of what is going on in the world.
During one of our conversation sessions she mentioned that she just couldn’t get her head around the fact that old men, safely sitting behind desks or very long tables, mobilize young men, forcing them to fight their bizarre wars out on the battle fields. “It doesn’t make any sense to me” she said, “it is utterly ridiculous, awful and unfair”.
Oh so true, Olga hit the nail right on the head and for me her insight makes it clear that we, far more than what we have done so far, must concentrate on the generation that comes after us. Here I am referring to all our educational systems, the youth in general and young Theosophists in particular. My dear Olga is not a theosophist, but she is a driven young woman and is determined to pay her contribution to make this global village in which we live a better place.
If I focus on our own young Theosophists, I guess we will have to do everything in our power to guide them, motivate them and give them the opportunity to expand their grasp of the teachings, ultimately leading to a greater awareness.
I have always loved this quote by PABLO PICASSO:
“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation.”
So, let us leave the world and its future to the young and look at ourselves more critically. Personally I am appalled by what some, I referred to them recently as “leftovers from the 20th century “ are doing to this global village of ours, by acting as greedy apostles of evil, creating utter destruction and mayhem, without any justification.
Let’s also try to reconnect with the innocence of being young and find inspiration there, realizing that, although we grow older in years, we remain children of that one and the same creation, while playing our part in this global symphony orchestra with different instruments though, but trying hard to come to a full and orchestral whole.
Olga is so right and although she can’t get her head around certain things yet, she is very much aware!