Letters to Ukraine – 5

Why must all good things come to an end? We work for security, then watch our investments falter. We constantly reform civic society to uphold our most sovereign morals, with partial success. Each generation dreams it will take humankind to a higher level, eliminating disease and poverty, achieving global peace; each grows old witnessing age-old suffering, hoping the next generation might do better. Some give up altogether, concluding that human nature is doomed to endless repetition. But quantum physics now relates what spirituality has always known: all is connected; everything connects. We couldn’t be irrelevant if we tried: our every action has repercussions, though we may not be able to predict or witness them. Each striving towards insight and compassion, however futile it may seem, eddies through the cosmic pool. And so, one should never become disillusioned, utterly, by impending defeat or loss, be it environmental, cultural or personal. For the good watchmaker, even fai-lure can be useful in understanding the mechanism. Beckett wrote: “Fail again. Fail better.” Meanwhile, celebrate success; but don’t cling grimly to it. Goodness isn’t exempt from change either. Ultimately, the reason why even the best things must come to an end, is so that the worst ones can too.