Why are human beings born?
We answer this question by saying: To enjoy “creating”.
I have traveled all over the world and met people living in various religions, cultures, and climates.
In all my travels, one thing remained the same no matter where I went.
That was the joyful face of people who were passionate about “creating”.
Cooking a meal, building a chair.
Making music, creating festivals.
No matter how poor they were, people who were passionate about “creating” looked joyful.
No matter how trivial it was, people who cherished “creating” looked happy.
Therefore to the question “why are human beings born?”, we would like to respond: To enjoy “creating” fully.
There are various stages in “creating”.
The stage of forming something tangible, such as a dish or a chair.
The stage of imagining something without form, such as wondering “What kind of picture should I paint?”.
The stage of creating the meaning for events, like thinking of a full moon as “ominous” or “a blessing”.
When we realize that there are various stages of “creating,” we can enjoy “creating” at any time.
“Saying that, it’s not easy to create something.”
We understand that feeling.
We have also never been able to create anything exactly as we wanted.
Carefully constructed chairs are rickety.
Cautiously sewn clothes are flimsy.
Oh, I really can’t take this anymore!
But, that is good. Don’t you think so?
If we can easily get what we want,
will the “joy of creating” arise?
Not easy to do. Fail over and over again.
“Creating” is really difficult.
But, that is why “creating” is so interesting.
After the modern age, the view of the world as “machine-like” has spread.
If the world were a machine, it should produce the desired results when operated correctly.
In a society built on such a view,
inaccurate or inefficient parts are considered “useless” or “failures”.
Therefore, school education up to now has been focused on training people
to work accurately and efficiently within the huge machine called society.
As a result, the economy has developed and society has become enormous and stable.
But on the other hand, what happened to human beings?
We are no longer able to produce the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the house we live in with our own hands.
Even water, which is essential for life, has to be bought with money.
Therefore, we have no choice but to depend on the social system more and more.
We are now giving up the “wisdom of creating” and “joy of creating” that human beings used to take for granted.
The standard of value revered in the “machine-like world” is Capitalism, which holds that “money is the most important thing.”
If we focus only on results from this way of view, the “joy of creating” will be lost.
No matter how important an activity is, if it does not result in money, it is a “failure”,
and those who cannot create economic value are relegated to the status of “useless”.
However, what will happen if we change the existing view that “money is the most important”
to a new one that “the joy of creating is the most important”?
For example, “failure” becomes an indispensable spice for the “joy of creating”.
“Uselessness” becomes a potential for growth simply because they have not yet fully utilized their ”ability to create”.
If we only change our way of view,
the world in front of us will change its appearance completely.
A society in which everyone on this planet can enjoy the “joy of creating” in peace.
We human beings already possess the wisdom to produce enough food and energy to realize such a society.
But why doesn’t it happen?
It may be because the system is manipulating the “narrative”.
In particular, the narrative that “this world is scarce and there is nothing to do but to scramble for.”
When people are imprinted with such a narrative, they become anxious, even if they are already abundant enough.
To relieve that anxiety, they choose to monopolize rather than to give,
and choose to win over others rather than the joy of creating.
As a result, trust relationships between people are fractured, and anxiety is increasingly magnified.
People become dependent on mechanical but stable systems rather than on unstable nature.
The system controls us through various medias,
by manipulating the narratives it imprints.
Of course, the social systems such as “Capitalism” and “nation-states” that have been in place are not evil.
These systems were also created by our predecessors, who wished for the happiness of their loved ones.
In particular, the workings of Capitalism have concentrated enormous wealth in the hands of a few people, freed them from labor, and allowed them to pursue their passion for “creating”, which has led to the dramatic development of human civilization.
The resulting energy revolution kept us from freezing,
and the agricultural revolution enabled us to produce enough food.
Compared to just 100 years ago, human beings have become drastically richer.
Yet, our way of view is still based on the premise of a “world of scarcity and scramble”.
That’s why we want to weave a new narrative with a new way of view:
Looking at this world as a “world overflowing with abundance and to enjoy creating”.
Until now, “peasants” have been treated as the weak in a “world of scarcity and scramble”.
However, if we change our view to a “world overflowing with abundance and to enjoy creating”,
peasants who can create food, clothing, and houses with their own hands are transformed into ”maestros of creation”.
The style of “peasant” in the new age will not be chosen
because we have no choice but to live,
but be chosen because we enjoy “creating”.
These new-age peasants enjoy the harmony with the magnificent nature along with the gratitude of being kept alive.
They try to learn and utilize cutting-edge technology like a knife.
They interestingly explore the science and art that predecessors have explored, as well as their cutting-edge questions.
They also play around with huge and complex social systems like a game.
The way of life of “peasants” in the new age;
it is the way of life of the future, filled with the “joy of creating”.
New-age peasants know that sharing makes their joy greater.
That’s why they form bands, grow rice, and hold festivals.
They value the process of “creating” together with others.
They are not interested in monopoly.
Because they can produce what they need with their own hands.
In the face of such new-age peasants, the current Capitalism based on private property will be reborn.
Even the meritocratic education system and the governance system of nation-states will end their roles.
Is this a fiction? No, this isn’t.
In a rice field deep in the mountains, in a renovated coffee shop, in an artist’s studio, in an entrepreneur’s lab.
Such a future is already emerging here and there.
It all starts with our decision that we value the joy of creating.
Everyone born on this earth spends their days filled with the “joy of creating”.
We will become the new-age peasants, the “Paradigmshifters”.
If possible, together with you.
November 24, 2022
Oboken, Editor-in-Chief of “View of Paradigmshifters”