Tomorrow, nothing will be the same as it was before

Traditionally, humanity has studied history, facts, and data in order to generate knowledge, comprehend the present, and forecast the future. We have learned about the cyclical and predictable nature of seasons, the development of disease patterns, our capacity for learning, and numerous other forms of knowledge. Through our linear thinking, we have sought to understand causality and its effects, providing explanations for phenomena and envisioning what lies ahead.

Our society has undergone a remarkable increase in complexity. Presently, countless variables coexist and interact, influencing our reality. Undoubtedly, as technologically augmented beings and reliant on ever-advancing technologies, we have fostered a hyper-technological society characterized by rapid and exponential transformations.

In this scenario, it is impossible for us to envision the future solely by looking at the rearview mirrors. The future is not merely a projection based on our understanding of past; instead, it grows more uncertain and elusive. As a result, non-linearity and incomprehensibility become integral aspects of what we refer to as the BANI world - characterized by its Brittle, Anxiety, Non-linear, and Incomprehensible - as discussed in earlier posts.

And what actions can we take in response to these exponential changes? How can we generate meaning amidst so many transformations?

First and foremost, self-awareness becomes crucial in navigating this nonsensical world. In this sense, it is a journey, a search rather than a destination. With numerous layers of personal perception, it becomes practically impossible for us to fully achieve what we truly call self-knowledge.

In ancient Greece, specifically in Delphi, an aphorism was recorded that has challenged and continues to challenge individuals: "know thyself." This message, believed to be from the gods and conveyed by Apollo, emphasized the importance of understanding one's own truth as a prerequisite for comprehending the truth of the world.

The challenge of self-knowledge

According to Socrates and the ancient Greeks, self-knowledge involved acknowledging our own ignorance and cultivating rational thinking. However, in addition to rationality, psychology has aided our understanding that we are psycho-bio-social-spiritual beings. To engage with self-knowledge effectively, it is essential to recognize how these aspects influence and interact within us.

This means that knowing yourself is, above all, recognizing your starting point, so: find yourself! identify how each of these instances is influencing your Being.

To know:

Do you know your body?

What signs does your body give you to determine what is right or wrong? Recognizing the limitations of the body is crucial for navigating this world effectively. If we somatize, meaning we manifest mental challenges in the form of physical symptoms such as migraines or chronic gastritis, it is possible that we may be experiencing something contradictory to our desires or intentions.

Do you recognize your emotions?

We often need space, pause and listening to feel and recognize our emotions. Without that, we start reacting influenced by them. In the movie “Inside Out”, by Pixar, the sadness needed to be recognized so that the pain could be released. No emotion should be left out, not even anger for example.

Accepted and acknowledged anger allows us to see unspoken expectations and frustrations. The strength of anger also allows us transformations and achievements. Recognizing emotions is essential for us to be agents and not reagents of our lives.

Do you recognize your dreams and desires?

Freud was extremely important to bring up this topic. His theory of psychoanalysis revealed to us how much we are guided by unconscious desires. Recognizing this, and building an authentic life around our desire and not what others and/or society want for our lives, is a challenging task.

This social concept is inside us since even before we are born, it is in the story that is being told with our arrival. This concerns the place we occupy in our families, and the place our families occupy in an even larger social context. All these webs and social circles makeup and structure our personality, while shaping our values and beliefs. To recognize our history is to recognize what has been done to us. It is, from this story, to perceive the world partially.

Last but not the least: what is your soul hungry for?

Here we are talking about something that transcends the body and mind, transcends reason, emotions and social anchoring. Apart from the dogmatic talk of religion, what connects you and expands you?

To address this topic, it took me a few years to work up the courage to bring it into the context of mental health. I had to do yoga training. And having more than 8 years of yoga and meditation practice to recognize how the connection, beyond us, takes us to one of the most important places: that of synchronizing, flowing and intuiting. An instance that goes far beyond what happens with rationality and attachment to emotions.

The spiritual instance is the exercise of emptying the ME so that THE WHOLE acts in an inexplicably extraordinary way, it is the place where the grace and enthusiasm of knowing dwells, even when we do not know why we know.

From self-knowledge to ethics as a path

Self-knowledge helps us develop as autonomous and responsible subjects, two fundamental conditions for becoming ethical subjects. Furthermore, as ethical subjects, we need to be aware and differentiate between good and evil. The latter being defined as everything that, in some way, violates and disrespects other humans, animals and life.

The more we seek to develop our ethical predispositions, the more we evolve as ethical subjects. Thus, we are increasingly able to reflect, deliberate and question our path and our choices. How they unfold and impact our lives, others and the world.

There's no way we can run anymore. No rule, law or morality is sufficient to account for the complexity of human life in the BANI world. More than ever, there is no way to calculate and anticipate all the facts. Now, we need to know what we are willing to take risks for and where, according to our ethics, it is worth investing our time and life!

For further reflection, here are some provocative questions:

• Where will you choose to direct the focus of your life, even in the absence of guarantees that everything will unfold according to your desires or wishes?
• Where will you invest your most precious resource: your time? Ultimately, as a human being confined within a physical body, you only have 24 hours in a day, regardless of how fast-paced you may live.
• Where does your curiosity lead you? What subjects, knowledge, or interests captivate you to the extent that you willingly expend effort to deepen your understanding?
• Are your dreams and expectations for your life genuinely your own, or are they shaped by the aspirations of others or society at large?
• As Guimar?es Rosa eloquently expressed, "living is risky."

If life is a risk, recognizing what it's worth living for helps us understand where we should look and seek.

In the next text we will talk about the BANI world, the artificial intelligence organizations.

*About Author: Júlia Ramalho, DdF Co-Founder & People Solution