the progress of humankind…
‘Star and Siberia’
1923, Alphonse Mucha
Photo of painting in
The Art Gallery of NSW
Mucha special exhibit
“The progress of humankind proceeds by a winding, rising, and falling path - like a temperature chart... it rises and then falls again - very far. But in the long run, it does, after all, rise...”
Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like our world is making progress.
Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like we are heading in the right direction.
Sometimes, everywhere I look, I see volatility, uncertainty, chaos, and ambiguity. In issues that affect the world, national issues, community level issues, and even those hurdles I face in being the best version of myself that I can.
…
Sometimes, it is easy to lose hope.
‘The light of hope’
Alphonse Mucha
Oil on Canvas
1933
But hope, eternal, is there. And to help me find it, I seek out insights from those who have inspired me, for various reasons. People like the visionary Art Nouveau artist, Alphonse Mucha.
I was reminded of this quote recently when I again saw it displayed at the Mucha exhibit in Sydney at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (one of my favourite art galleries)!
Mucha’s work was amazing - and his story has a great depth. His art, especially in his later years, were calls for a universal love, and connection. They were a message from Mucha to ‘generations to come’ for to have hope.
Hope indicates a sense of assuredness that good is yet to come.
Hope has been identified as a mediating mechanism that leads to engagement - and thus thriving… at work, and in life.
The Lincoln Memorial
Washington D.C.
Photo downloaded from: Unsplash
Photographer: Kellie Douglas
Hope often comes from stories, from narrative. One of the touchstones of hope for me is a 1939 Frank Capra movie with Jimmy Stewart in the lead.
In this story, a naive, newly appointed United States senator fights against government corruption, and almost loses his ‘fire’ to serve in the process. My favourite scene is at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where his politically seasoned secretary and friend, ‘Saunders’ (Jean Arthur) helps the freshman Senator, ‘Geoff Smith’ (Stewart) to not lose his hope for making a difference in the face of the stark realities of the political world.
I watch this clip again, and again, to rebuild my hope.
Saunders tells Mr Smith, that his friend,
“...Mr Lincoln had his [petty enemies]. So did every other man who ever tried to lift his thoughts up off the ground. Odds against them didn’t stop those men, they were fools that way. All the Good that ever came into this world came from fools with faith like that...”
There will always be ‘petty tyrants’, in our lives… sometimes even real tyrants. However, without a hope that we can improve things, I’ve found that I lose faith. I lose the engagement to make my efforts more effective in creating positive change in the world.
However, I’ve been blessed with having met and spent time with many whom I admire within the system, from across the political spectrum, and who serve as public servants, in honourable and impartial form.
Not too long ago, I had the privilege of talking with a past senior public servant, now Advisor to the Minister for Water, a friend of mine, Mr Michael Wrathall. Our conversation covered, with candour, humour and passion topics such as the common ground between those that serve the public Good, the reality and benefit of incremental progress in policy development, and the importance of genuine consultation to build sustainable and effective policies.
The insightful path is one, I’ve found, that can give one courage and hope. It includes the wisdom of thinkers who have vividly tried to make positive change in their worlds, and who yearn to share this with us.
The impact of their narratives, and insights can be a much needed support when hope seems in shadow.
While my preference is to meet directly with those I admire, I still feel the ‘presence’ of those speakers whose ideas I’ve only read about. People like Alphonse Mucha, who would remind me that regardless of how far human progress’ path seems to have fallen, in the long run, ‘it does, after all, rise…’
“Mucha in No. 6 rue du Val-de-Grace’
Photograph of photo at Art Gallery of NSW
Alphonse Mucha Exhibit
People like these, living, past, or symbolic (like Mr Smith and Saunders), are ones that help me re-find my hope for the progress of humankind.
If you find your hope slipping in these difficult times, why not reach out and see how the insightful path might benefit you? You’ll be surprised at how many insights you’ve already got waiting to be discovered!
