“Act instead of pleading, sacrifice yourself without hope of glory or reward! If you want to see miracles, make them first. Only then your peculiar destiny will be able to be fulfilled.” Ludwig van Beethoven.
This time I borrow a sacred question, but not in relation to religion, to the Domine, but to the human being. Quo vadis homine? Where are you going? I do not intend to summarize the concept of the “myth of the eternal return” described by Mircea Eliade, nor the facts, or historical background of this question when Peter fled from Rome to save his life around the year 63 AD, much less Henryk’s book Sienkiewicz, or the 1951 film based on his work.
It is still an extremely topical question since it refers to where are we, where do we come from and where are we going? In regard to our actions, desires and needs, this simple question can give us an answer to so many problems and show us a way, or solutions to overcome obstacles, achieve goals, or just accept the situation we are in and resignify our past, present and future. Answering yourself the question quo vadis? encompasses responses in three times, three states and three different axes: past, present and future, desired, current and necessary, temporality, directionality and intentionality. The question serves as a reference to position ourselves firmly and become aware of our own life situation, past, present and future, including our achievements, desires and needs with regards to our possessions, our necessities and our dreams.
For me, this question represents also three things: a map, a compass and a destination to guide me in my day to day. In the short, mid and long term, as well as in hindsight.
The question and its respective answers serve to guide, decide and evaluate our actions, the direction of our lives, our relationships and our own aspirations. It can help us, leaving the past aside for the moment, to define our current starting point by relating three states: Where am I? Am I where I want to be? Am I where I have or need to be?
In the answers to these questions we will find all those “I´d like…”, “I´d wish…”, “I´d need…”, etc., as if we are honest with ourselves all those “would”, “should”, “could”, etc. and the most important equation: if I want to, I must… Freedom and responsibility. Viktor Frankl once said that he waited all his life for another Statue or Island in the USA. The East Coast has it´s Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty, but with such liberty comes great responsibility, so where is the Statute of Responsability? On the West Coast? No, there is the Island of Alcatraz, for those who abuse their liberty and act without responsability towards others…
This simple query, quo vadis? questions our own freedoms, needs, and responsibilities in terms of our values, thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. Two little words that partly describe me, and at the same time define me, as a human being, where I come from, where I am and where I am heading.
We all know where and were we come from, mostly. Some of us know were and where we are in life, mostly, but few really apprehend where and when they´re heading.
Are these such difficult questions to ask? NO! Would the answers to these questions give us more clarity about ourselves and our lives? YES! All we have to do is ask ourselves, with awareness, attention, training, discipline, responsibility, evaluation and adequate communication, with ourselves and with others. All being factors within our own responsibility and field of action.
Your results are a direct consequence of your actions and these, in turn, have their origin in your decisions, which are not only conditioned, but also determined by your perspective, which is nothing more than a reflection of what you are aware of.
If you want to delve into this topic and learn how easy it can be to find “the right answers” to your questions, I invite you to get straight to the point.
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