Nothing in life really matters - or does it?

Art by Liezel Lüneburg. What goes around swims around.

Oh, what joy there is in drawing koi fish! The colors, the form, the grace, the stories marking the elegant bodies… Fish are one of the most fulfilling subjects to draw. I think it has to do with the harmonious way in which the fish's body becomes one with its surroundings, so unlike most people who appear to be out of place in the human world, uncomfortable in their own skins.

The other night I watched a presentation titled “Nothing in life really matters”.

In it the author created a visual picture of the infiniteness of the universe - life - illustrating in a sense, earth and the physical size and relationship between all the planets, stars and the rest and how “insignificant” us human beings are in comparison.

Based on this insignificance - he questions the importance of all the many things and situations we humans encounter daily and how we respond to the latter. How and where we place ourselves within society - hierarchies - our places of work and leisure and the status of importance we attribute to ourselves and from where, we then dictate downwards on those who we consider of lesser or no importance.

The current multitude of challenges we confront at this time are of such significance that it has, I would imagine, at least on some level, forced each of us to dedicate some time and thought to determine the focus of what and where our priorities, should be. It dictated, and will for some time to come, force us to consider new paradigms and possibilities. We have but little, or some would even submit - no choice but to consider the importance of almost all the elements in this - what we refer to, as life.  

Did someone die because of this or that mistake by someone else? If not - why are we raising hell through verbal, or even physical abuse and action to illustrate our perceived position of being more important - more educated - richer or whatever motivation you want to use to claim - again - your perceived superiority.

A spiritual teacher of mine of years back shared the following analogy. The universe is like a puzzle. Ages ago the universe experienced the “big bang” and pieces of this once beautiful universe were scattered all over. Over time though, as each of these pieces are being brought back to its rightful place within the puzzle we call the universe, healing is happening within every single moment. Most often though, we are so bombarded with the noise of our own importance, that we do not notice this.

We buy a large colorful and sometimes complicated puzzle from the shop - clear the dining room table and start constructing the outer edge of this puzzle.  Over time and many hours of painstaking concentration, we reach that point where we only need one or two small pieces to complete this beautiful and exciting picture. But wait - holy cow - we can’t find the latter! Everyone is up in arms and pointing fingers but our best efforts do not find those pieces. What do we do? What do you do?

I have, on occasion grabbed a plastic bag, chucked everything in there and just trashed it.

Now - let’s return to the question of what really matters.

Everything matters. Something may well be less significant within a particular environment, situation or moment - but it is not less important than anything and everything else - no one person is less important than the other - no piece of that puzzle or element within the universe is less or of lesser importance than the next.

We cannot be - do, or become the true essence of who we are, without the other. Without the lost pieces of that puzzle, it is incomplete - it cannot be what the picture on the box promised us.   

Everything matters - everything is connected - every breath - every physical action - every thought -however insignificant within the big picture, creates a connection with the next element of life. The universe responds to this. Quantum physics has proved that once one atom/particle has had contact with another, its connection with the other - irrespective of the distance between them, is infinite and the vibration of one influences the other. It is referred to as quantum entanglement.   

Everything matters.

Or if you want - everything is an important as it is unimportant…

A wise man once said that the character of man is reflected in the manner he/she treats those from whom he/she has nothing to gain.

Everything matters.

And well - karma is a bitch …  

SA's education is in a crisis

Our education system is in shambles - full stop!

Our kids and grand kids are tomorrow's leaders. Our daughters are tomorrow's mothers. If 78 per cent plus of Grade fours cannot read for meaning in any language (PIRLS report), we are in deep trouble and we are all - every last one - responsible.

During Innibos this year, I covered an event at the Laerskool Nelspruit's art centre. What a beautiful space it is! I thought, well, we expect only the best results from learners at these schools. Compared to this school, the conditions at most rural schools are shocking; nevertheless, we still expect similar results from the learners at these schools too. Are we are out of our minds?

Yes, the parents at private and former model C schools pay an arm and a leg in terms of school fees and I have no quarrel with this. Rural communities do not have this capacity, but this does not mean that we should accept this as the norm. Government should have a laser-focused approach towards the upliftment of these schools. And if they do not, which is quite obvious, we should vehemently query this at every opportunity. We have a collective responsibility towards our children - mine and yours.

I was invited to share some insights and motivation with a number of rural school principals and business leaders recently. The school where we convened had a large, beautiful, but unused science lab. There was not a single piece of scientific equipment or instrument available. None - zero - zilch. And no, it was not destroyed in protest. It was just never supplied. They have a well-equipped computer class, but cannot afford an adequate enough data bundle or Wi-Fi to enable them to utilise the facility to its optimum...

This is just totally unacceptable! This, while in another world, as someone said on Twitter, "Eskom millionaire managers demand an increase in salary from the same company they bankrupted through bad management".

Where did we go wrong - where did I go wrong? Where did we not set the right example? Where did we illustrate the lack of capacity to not live authentically? Where did we fail in our responsibility to share our blessings equally? Where did we - both black and white - consider ourselves superior to the needs and aspirations of another human being?

What you sow, you reap and yes, let it known - karma is a bitch!

As parents - all parents - we have the same aspirations for our children, but this situation is an indictment towards our education system. At one point, a principal expressed her delight and gratitude about her child who is performing exceptionally well at school - a school in Mbombela. We shared her joy. This observation is absolutely not meant as a criticism, but affirms that something is radically wrong and yes, we are responsible.

I do not have all the answers. I do not claim perfection either. But when I think about these things, my soul is not well - not at all well! If we don't take hands and accept our collective responsibility to address the education of our children today, we are failing humanity - we are showing ubuntu the middle finger - we are neglecting our purpose to illustrate Godliness.

Future generations will become our accusers if we continue to act as if we have been disinfected and dislodged from our inner voice - our souls. We will be held responsible for the many single stories of failure - of lost potential - for the many who tried and would have been successful if only we had not been so stubborn in our lack of support.

I have learned throughout my life, and now also through my PfP involvement, that it is the small, often considered insignificant things, that creates the most powerful, deep and infinite changes.

Which is it going to be? How do you plan to show up? What is your single story going to tell?

Tell me on matthys@lowvelder.co.za