„You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life on its own. – MICHELLE OBAMA
Michelle Obama rightly quoted that life is full of ups and downs and you cannot stay in your comfortable position lifelong. But, this does not mean that you will underestimate your strength. Hope is contagious and can really bring up big positive changes in life.
As an example, Ece Temelkuran is a novelist and political commentator whose work explores issues that are controversial in Turkey. She described the Kurdish and Armenian struggles and freedom of expression. Not sugarcoated; she shows how life and hope can maintain under oppression. In her book: “Hope Under Oppression”, she explores the essential role of hope under harsh conditions and frames the intrinsic value, rationality and morality of hope for the oppressed.
I am impressed by her mission to travel the world in crisis areas, a courageous and precise observer of life and political circumstances. She raises her voice, not loudly, dominantly, but with sensitivity, feeling for the situation, the moment and the different people in their respective life realities and current political movements. She gets to the heart of the matter, looks behind the façades of those in political power and shows in her works the courageous, hopeful and powerful actors, in all their strength and pride. She captures the mood with her clear, considered formal language authentically with her camera in her images & her made observations through her precise words. I like and I am inspired by her attitude as a cautious observer on the one hand and as a „participant in upheaval“ on the other.
For this you need a lot of courage, hope & inner strength. And foremost faith. Wow.
Undeterred, she pursues her path and her mission, it seems to me. She walks it with grace and paves it with her talent and wisdom that it is always worthwhile never to lose faith. This impresses me and encourages me greatly in my work. It makes us more self-effective and makes us mentally stronger.
For me, her clear language and attitude only want one thing: to connect people and build bridges. This is more important than ever in these times of upheaval & the unthinkable, of uncertainty. In business as in life. I do nothing else with my work. Walk the Talk.
“When you believe in something, your actions are shaped by that unshakable stance. Faith is the most magical and most formidable human skill – the only skill that we can depend on in this fight against the extinction of humankind, the planet and hope.” – Ece Temelkuran
Like her I believe that faith makes personal sacrifice possible. Her opinion about faith in the context of climate change: “But we have to have faith that humans can be better and more essential to this planet. We have to believe that we deserve to exist as well (…).”
In her point of view she emphasizes that “today’s political movements, the ones that are determined to set a new direction for humankind or are proposing an exit from our political and moral maze, should not neglect the people’s need for and ability to have faith.”
She wants to make it clear and demonstrate that “we are living in an age where we are once again faced with a political movement that thrives on controlling and manipulating the politics of emotions and moral values.” If that is not progressive and far-sighted, then I don’t know what else it should be.
„(…) But we progressives must have some sort of consensus, especially today when the progressive discourse is partitioned into questions of identity. It has been quite a long time since we have talked about human love, for instance. Our ability to have faith is something that we cannot dismiss, especially in a world where knowing is being replaced by believing.” – Ece Temelkuran
How daring? Or what do you think? I don’t think there could be a better time than now for this forward-looking or future oriented way of thinking and acting. Do you agree? What gives you hope & helps you to keep the faith in shaping our future, economy, politics, art & culture and social systems beyond our imagination and today’s existing realities? For unity of humankind? What gives you faith & hope in general in your life?
“Faith is the only word that can at once accommodate all those concepts that seem to be in pieces: self-esteem, confidence, trust.” – Ece Temelkuran
In my opinion there is nothing more to add.