A time of hope, humanity and heroes
An insight recently was revealed to me mysteriously (as usual!): "A man can protect a woman, but only a woman can save a man."
He can protect her because men are usually stronger physically than women.
But she can save him because women are generally more moral than men. Indeed the average woman is more sensitive morally than the average man. Therefore, a woman can inspire a man to act in a way that is honorable and moral, and it is this very inspiration that gives him the strength to overcome his fears.
In my own life, I've learned from women that it's not really how much you know, but how much you care. You can have all the knowledge in the world, yet it's useless if you don't care.
A recent fascinating example of someone who cares is Bill Gates: he announced that he would step down as chairman of Microsoft so he could spend all his time working at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has a budget of about 18 billion dollars.
It's great that he decided to make the world a better place. Someone with his talent and resources will definitely leave a mark in this world.
At the same time, because he has been so successful and has amassed such a great fortune, most of the richest and most powerful men and women of our time respect him. Therefore, his decision is sure to affect and influence their perception about the urgency of doing something to help people who are suffering on Earth.
Al Gore is another example of a man who uses his talent (political savvy, media mastery, oratory skills, etc.) to do something worthwhile that will help to save the planet. His movie, An Inconvenient Truth, is sure to transform people's perception about the urgency of doing something to save the environment, where our children will spend their lifetime.
But let's get back to men protecting women, and women saving men.
I believe that men should protect women as much as they can, for the simple reason that a woman is the best thing that can happen to a man.
If a man lets a woman enter his heart, she can transform him in a way he could never imagine before. Any man who has fallen deeply in love understands this truth. It is as mysterious as it is powerful.
In fact, the French have a nice quote about it: "Derriere tout homme evolue, il y a une femme epuisee." (Behind every evolved man, there is a woman who is exhausted).
In more romantic terms, we might even say that the more a woman becomes a princess (that is, a lovely being endowed with a sense of morality and of compassion of breathtaking beauty), the more her man will strive to become a valiant and fearless knight.
It is quite possible that today we are seeing a return of the age of chivalry. Indeed, it seems we have reached a point in history which I call "a time of hope, humanity and heroes."
Hope, because never before have human beings been so empowered by all kinds of information and communications technologies.
Humanity, because never before in human history have we felt so close to people who are suffering in other countries. The global outpouring of sympathy and concrete financial help after the tsunami is the proof that we feel a sense of compassion toward those who suffer at the other end of the globe.
Heroes, because many of the men and women who have spent years perfecting their skills, their intellect and their art, now suddenly feel the moral urge to use their talents to serve the common good. (Think about U2's Bono and his work in trying to alleviate world poverty by lobbying powerful nations and asking them to erase the debt owed by developing countries).
In that context, it seems the key to success (in the global sense of the word) will be to sharpen our moral clarity and reaffirm our moral conviction. This will help us succeed because faith in the rightness of what we are doing is like an invincible sword.
With it, we can do anything. Without it, we cannot do much.
As they say, "inflexible in faith, invincible in arms."
He can protect her because men are usually stronger physically than women.
But she can save him because women are generally more moral than men. Indeed the average woman is more sensitive morally than the average man. Therefore, a woman can inspire a man to act in a way that is honorable and moral, and it is this very inspiration that gives him the strength to overcome his fears.
In my own life, I've learned from women that it's not really how much you know, but how much you care. You can have all the knowledge in the world, yet it's useless if you don't care.
A recent fascinating example of someone who cares is Bill Gates: he announced that he would step down as chairman of Microsoft so he could spend all his time working at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has a budget of about 18 billion dollars.
It's great that he decided to make the world a better place. Someone with his talent and resources will definitely leave a mark in this world.
At the same time, because he has been so successful and has amassed such a great fortune, most of the richest and most powerful men and women of our time respect him. Therefore, his decision is sure to affect and influence their perception about the urgency of doing something to help people who are suffering on Earth.
Al Gore is another example of a man who uses his talent (political savvy, media mastery, oratory skills, etc.) to do something worthwhile that will help to save the planet. His movie, An Inconvenient Truth, is sure to transform people's perception about the urgency of doing something to save the environment, where our children will spend their lifetime.
But let's get back to men protecting women, and women saving men.
I believe that men should protect women as much as they can, for the simple reason that a woman is the best thing that can happen to a man.
If a man lets a woman enter his heart, she can transform him in a way he could never imagine before. Any man who has fallen deeply in love understands this truth. It is as mysterious as it is powerful.
In fact, the French have a nice quote about it: "Derriere tout homme evolue, il y a une femme epuisee." (Behind every evolved man, there is a woman who is exhausted).
In more romantic terms, we might even say that the more a woman becomes a princess (that is, a lovely being endowed with a sense of morality and of compassion of breathtaking beauty), the more her man will strive to become a valiant and fearless knight.
It is quite possible that today we are seeing a return of the age of chivalry. Indeed, it seems we have reached a point in history which I call "a time of hope, humanity and heroes."
Hope, because never before have human beings been so empowered by all kinds of information and communications technologies.
Humanity, because never before in human history have we felt so close to people who are suffering in other countries. The global outpouring of sympathy and concrete financial help after the tsunami is the proof that we feel a sense of compassion toward those who suffer at the other end of the globe.
Heroes, because many of the men and women who have spent years perfecting their skills, their intellect and their art, now suddenly feel the moral urge to use their talents to serve the common good. (Think about U2's Bono and his work in trying to alleviate world poverty by lobbying powerful nations and asking them to erase the debt owed by developing countries).
In that context, it seems the key to success (in the global sense of the word) will be to sharpen our moral clarity and reaffirm our moral conviction. This will help us succeed because faith in the rightness of what we are doing is like an invincible sword.
With it, we can do anything. Without it, we cannot do much.
As they say, "inflexible in faith, invincible in arms."
posted by Super Peter at 9:11 PM
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