Yud Shvat: A World Looking For Its Why

No doubt society is currently experiencing profound anxiety.

This feeling of angst knows no boundaries.

It is manifest across the globe, affecting all ages and socioeconomic classes.

Technological changes and their disruptive impact on the way we live and work seem to be in a continued state of acceleration.

It seems like history has entered uncharted waters. Conventional wisdom has lost its value.

What’s most puzzling, is that in an age of unprecedented affluence there is such profound discontent.

Perhaps ironically the opportunity lies in the very challenge we face.

Perhaps it is precisely because of such material abundance that we are becoming desensitized to it.

We’ve “been there, done that”. There is nothing normal left to experience.

The world is looking for something completely different.

Look deep into the eyes of young people today and you will see an emptiness.

They are desperately looking for meaning and purpose in their lives.

They are calling out for help, yet no one can hear their cry.

Children are looking at their parents and teachers like they have just landed from Mars.

The consequences are dangerous. For it is in a vacuum that people resort to crazy stuff. More crazy than any adults could begin to fathom.

Graphic violence played out in the most cutting edge video technology experience.

Substance dependency and abuse are prevalent and gaining momentum.

Even the most fundamental timeless values of identity are being destroyed.

So what do we do? Where do we begin?

Perhaps the greatest visionary of our times saw this coming.

In his inauguration address, the Lubavitcher Rebbe issued the call of the hour.

He said “Transform your selfish crazy into a selfless one”.

Human beings are not absolutely rational. We are anchored in something beyond.

We have a choice to make. Either we behave in a sub-rational way or in a supranational one.

We can indulge ourselves in a million different ways. But selfish indulgence is fast losing its appeal, because the problem is much deeper.

Or we can do crazy stuff in a good way. Like living a life dedicated to going out of our way, even making sacrifices, to add value in the lives of others.

Young people today are asking not just what to do or where to do it. They are now asking why they do it.

The world is looking for its ‘why’. For its spiritual nutrition.

The world is becoming more spiritually sensitive. Let’s respond in kind.