Let's imagine humanity as one soul: a soul with a light side and a dark side.
The war in Gaza, in which right now Palestinians and Israelis are bombing each other, is a manifestation of the dark side of the soul that humanity is. Just as the heavy metal emissions into the waters from the mines of Talvivaara in Finland. Manifestations of darkness are also the greed that pushes young, pretty reception female workers to try and steal from their foreign guests at a 4-star hotel in Bucharest; the greed of mining executives that threaten to turn Finland into a Swiss cheese; the expanding construction that eats up the forests like a cancer; and the endless covetousness of economical growth that gnaws the entrails of Mother Earth. Cantankerous speech inside families. Mistreating children and animals. Plastic garbage high up in the beautiful mountains of Piatra Craiului in Rumania. The neurotic desire to get faster and faster from one place to another. Oh, is there an end to the list? The dark side of humanity -the soul - seems immense. The news talks about it constantly.
But where and how does the light side manifest itself?
In the kindness of Antonella from Magura towards her guests at Pension Lavinius. In the huge step taken by Australian government in ocean protection. In the Finnish school system that wants to offer all kids the same educational chances. In Uruguayan president Jose Mujica giving 90% of his monthly salary (9500€) to charity. In the intelligent, imaginative, fun art of Alex Mitchell. In the beauty of the poetry of P. Sorjonen. In the smile of children. In the music of Zbigniew Preisner. In all the efforts of people trying to protect nature.
The paragraph listing the manifestations of the generous side of humanity is smaller than the other one.
There is no light without shadows. And maybe goodness and beauty would go unnoticed if there were not evil and ugliness to contrast them with. But still, I can't help wondering, whether things wouldn't be better worldwide if the dark side of each of us manifested itself without greed and a desire to have power and control over others.