change as impulse ‘Yet I know that something meaningful exists. And I know that meaning is not something to make fun of.’ These are the final words of a book entitled ‘Nothing’. For ages, man has not taken the earth on which he lives seriously, he ridicules his fellow inhabitants, and he denies meaning. However, we are faced with a complete U-turn of 180 degrees. If we begin to partake of the cosmic resurrection, a completely formed consciousness will be generated in us. If only we are willing (and able!) to react to this impulse.
S
ome time ago, a book for young people was published, entitled ‘Nothing’, written by the Danish author Janne Teller. During a lesson, a boy rises from his chair and says: ‘There is nothing that means anything. I have known this for a very long time. This is also why it is meaningless to do anything. I just discovered this.’ He takes his school stuff, leaves and does not return to school. He spends his time in a plum tree. He throws unripe plums to the children and one day, he calls to them: ‘Everything is the same, because it is nothing else than a game. At the very moment that you are born, you begin to die. And it is the same with everything.’ And on another day, he says: ‘The earth is four billion and six hundred million years old, but you will not become older than a hundred years. Life is actually not worth the effort. It is nothing else than a game that amounts to pretending and being the best at doing so.’ When we bought this book for young people, the sales woman asked us, if we were inwardly strong enough to read it, or rather strong enough to deal with the humiliations that children inflict on each other, strong enough to remain confident that there indeed is meaning, and strong enough to remain confident in people. This story is not a joke, but it is as ruthless as people can be… Nothing means anything; it is nothing but a game. Everything that begins will stop again. This is a clear statement. He, who seeks the meaning of things, always walks a spiritual 38 pentagram 3/2012
path, irrespective of whether he is aware of it or not, and in this way, he gains experience. Then life can give him an answer. There is much sorrow in the world. Countless people lack the bare necessities. From birth, they experience poverty, hunger and cruelty – amongst which the ravages inflicted by people are often the most horrific ones, ultimately followed by ravages in the inner human being. Sometimes, these same people experience – sometimes even simultaneously – the great joys of life, such as love, fulfilment or recognition. What is actually going on? Why does this happen? Is it a game, a whim of evolution? NOURISHING FORCES We may make a dis-
covery: we are sustained by something. Whatever we do, whatever happens to us, we are embedded in something and we are part of something. The boy in our story is sitting in a plum tree. Nature supports him, comforts him and gives him the chance to throw unripe plums, but it cannot give him the meaning of life. Everyone can become aware of how he is sustained by nature. We are strengthened by the bright colours of a flower, the power of a tree, the surface of the water on a lake, and the flight of a bird. Trees, flowers, water, the majesty of heaven, and the animals, all of them have something to do with us and are part of us. They are our companions, our existence, and we live from them. The same may be said of other sources that give
