Hanno’s Wanderlust

The Phoenicians were renowned for their travelling spirit, their sense of curiosity and their trade skills. Their towns Byblos, Sidon and Tyre being squeezed between the Mediterranean See and mountains, they had no choice than to conquer the seas, meet the other Mediterranean cultures and trade their cedarwood for other precious objects.

The Phoenicians invented the triremes and were able to navigate in the full sea, away from the coastline. Hanno the Navigator is said to have sailed past the Pillars of Hercules, this is the strait of Gibraltar, to sail along the African coast. There is no clear evidence how far his journey went exactly, opinions vary between South Morocco and Gabon.

Wanderlust requires courage and the willingness to reach a higher objective. It has been a first pillar of our civilisation built on industry.  We must therefore classify the wanderlust or travelling spirit among the virtues. I have been sarcastic at times about the touristic travelling mania, which destroys all pleasure and tranquillity in touristic places, yet the real exploration spirit remains an essential human trait and skill. In the Bible, many stories start with God incentivising man (Abraham, Moses, Jesus) to leave his comfortable home and travel courageously to unknown destinations for the greater good of mankind.

I refer to my blogs Mercator and Ode to Audacity.

Picture: from ‘Geschiedenis van de ontdekkingen’ Standaard Jeugd Bibliotheek Antwerpen-Amsterdam + 1977

The Art of Being a Diehard

In our valley of tears, life can be tough. Today in 2026, however, toughness is the privilege of firefighters and soldiers. Ideally even soldiers of a distant past, such as Ulysses, Achilles or Alcibiades. Our contemporary TV heroes, on the contrary, present themselves as ‘softly boiled eggs’, as they suffer from hypochondria, unshaved beards, lack of attention and other general discomfort. Any kind of obligation is blown up to incredible proportions. Life is totally unbearable at more than ten metres from the swimming pool. A famous metaphor for our culture would make the story of the princess and the pea of Hans Christian Andersen.

This may explain our admiration for the very authentic character of police officer John McClane, performed by actor Bruce Willis. We admire this diehard police officer not so much because of his intellectual subtleness. We admire him because of his unwavering commitment to the good cause, his ‘never give-up’ attitude, his audacity and his willingness to suffer the worst of injuries with a modest smile. Toughness is not only a character trait. Toughness is a virtue and an indication of the more widely recognised virtue of courage.

In the Christian calendar we celebrate today Saint Agapitus of Palestrina, whose statue you can admire at the Duomo of Milan. Agapitus was still very young when he refused to participate in the Roman Army cult of Sol Invictus, imposed by emperor Aurelian. Therefore he was starved, scourged, hanged upside down, burned, fed to the lions, .. without much result until he finally got decapitated. Even compared to other spectacular cases of Christian perseverance, Agapitus must have been the ‘diehard’ John McClane of the Roman Christian martyrs. Of course, we need to remain aware that the traditional martyr stories did not so much aim at describing the historic events. They mainly aimed at supporting us in our faith.

Therefore, may the legend of Agapitus support us in our faith and may it encourage us to some toughness in daily life. The swimming pool is for next year. Let us return courageously to our workplace and let us practice the art of being a diehard.

Picture: By Yair Haklai - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Koppeling

Enter the Construction Sites of History

I would like to come back on one sentence in pope Leo's encyclical letter Magnifica Humanitas that inspired me particularly. Remember Nehemia was put forward as being an example of trust in God, patience, responsibility and leadership. He united the Jewish people as a team and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in six months, which should make him the ideal patron of the project leaders. Being a project leader myself, I tend to become desperate at times, but I realise now what a privilege it is to have this difficult but honourable responsibility.

“In this era of digital transformation, I see in Nehemia a striking parable of our own vocation, which is not to be passive spectators of social and cultural fractures, nor mere commentators on what is crumbling, but men and women prepared to enter the construction sites of history — research laboratories, technology companies, schools, the media, institutions and local communities — in order to rebuild what has collapsed and protect what is threatened.”

In this magnificent paragraph, pope Leo touches on the core problem of our time. All too often, people stand at the more secure side lines of the construction sites and limit themselves to be ‘mere commentators on what is crumbling’ in the social media. This leaves them unsatisfied and unhappy with the society and with themselves. Only by defying the fear to be ridiculed as Christians or as supporters of the common good, we can participate wholeheartedly to the construction sites of our time and by practicing solidarity, make the world a better place.

We need people who stand with both feet in the construction yards of our time: the named research laboratories, technology companies, schools, the media, institutions and local communities. In our complex role, we are called to rebuild what has collapsed and protect what is threatened. If you read the encyclical well, you know this means demonstrating team spirit and solidarity with our fellow human being who may be exploited or lost in the information society. In his own way, Leo XIV encourages us to follow Jesus and to expose ourselves to the world.

I also refer to my blogs 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and The Engineer’s Social Role.

Image by Ri Butov from Pixabay

Could the clock be ticking backwards?

Are we living in a so-called society regression, an era of social decline? Twenty years ago, we could not imagine that the United States of America would adopt a "back-to-the-middle-ages" policy: elimination of vaccinations - promotion of meat and fat - promotion of household weapons - denial of climate change – blocking of accessible health insurance. Politics is not only directed against scientists, but also against science itself. Virtue is dismissed as weakness. Nobody cares about blatant lies anymore, as is customary in dictatorships. On the international stage, too, we see a regression to the law of the strongest.

Looking into the eye of the snake can have a paralyzing effect. The democratic forces have so far reacted with disbelief and immobilism. Europe is slowly but certainly getting back on its feet. I refer to my blog The Re-Emergence of the West.

Picture: Galileo clock source ESA Navipedia.

Brothers in Arms

One of the most touching monuments in Flanders’ fields is the Brothers in Arms Memorial Park near the Polygon woods of Zonnebeke, in the vicinity of Ypres. It shows Australian soldier John Hunter dying in the arms of his younger brother James. James buried John carefully in the forest in September 1917, survived the war but could not find back his brother's grave after the war. In 2006 however, the remains of five Australian soldiers were found in the forest. One of the five soldiers was identified by DNA research as being the lost John Hunter.

Touching as this monument may be, I feel an inner resistance to attend public praise events to fallen victims, especially when political powers are present, claiming the boys had given their lives for their country. What the officials should say is: “We failed in diplomacy and have taken the lives of these young people to uphold our doubtful reputation…”. What on Earth is worth more in a country than the lives of young people? Abstract principles like ‘freedom’ or ‘democracy’ are of no use for people who have died already, nor for the numerous family members who stay behind, dead from sorrow.

In these times of belligerent talk, we prefer silence or the wonderful Brothers in Arms song of Dire Straits.

I refer to my earlier blog Pray for peace.

Dedication: I dedicate this blog to ir. Marc De Jonghe († 15 November 2025), friend and brother in arms.

Picture: Brothers in Arms monument Zonnebeke, Ypres 2025 ©Wim Lahaye

The Measure of a Man

This autobiography of Sidney Poitier is certainly worth reading. First, it sheds an interesting light on the conditions in which a black man could reach the top in the Hollywood film industry. Being raised in a poor tomato farmer environment on the Bahamas, in a simple, almost idyllic environment where everyone was poor, he hadn’t undergone the ‘conditioning’ in the back ghettos in American suburbs. In spite of the racial tensions and the underlying social injustice, he never felt inferior and could keep up a modest pride as a human being to be respected. In this way, he developed a ‘character’ of authenticity and integrity in full accordance with the actor roles the film industry needed at that time. He testifies he wasn’t that much aware of his race before he left his idyllic youth environment on the Bahamas as a young man.

The other reason why this book is worth reading resides in the title. What is the measure of a man, the author asks himself. We know we should be mild on people. Do we have the right and the capability to take the measure of a man? The author refers to his father, who repeatedly claimed the measure of a man resides in his ability to provide for his children. As his father was a poor man, he certainly must have meant provision in the material sense, but it was much more than that. It was also the education he gave and his example of a decent life in courage and integrity. Sidney Poitier sees the greatest part of his father’s legacy as the knowledge that in discipline and commitment lies hope. Nevertheless, Poitier remains realistic enough to see this will not solve all problems in society.

We tend to measure a man by his income. As a result, we live in idolatry for billionaires. The measure of a (wo)man should actually be estimated by what (s)he brings to society, not by what (s)he gets from society.

It seems like Poitier's education didn't burden him too much with status anxiety. I also refer to my Dutch blog Elitaire of egalitaire samenleving?

The Secret of Simple Sound World Economics

In this merciless world, we observe chaos, corruption, trade barriers, extortion and exploitation of the weak. We wonder if there exists any solution to the unsurmountable problems of world economics. We acknowledge there will always be shortages. There is simply not enough for everybody on this planet.

Puzzled by these questions and by feelings of guilt two thousand years ago, people asked John the Baptist what they should be doing. You would expect a very demanding list of charity related duties. The answer was astonishingly simple, minimalistic even. To the public officials, he said: “Don't ask more than what has been established for you.” To the soldiers he said: “Don't rob anyone. Don't extort or fine anyone falsely. Be satisfied with your pay.”

Especially the idea of showing satisfaction with your pay seems unworldly strange in this era of never enough. Showing satisfaction with your pay sounds like asking to be robbed.

Nevertheless: could we try this? And see where we end up in this chaos. In combination with modest generosity, this is the best simple cure for a sound world economy.

I refer to my blogs Temperance saves the World and to Economics of Good and Evil.

Picture: retable ‘The Life of John the Baptist’ from the Notre-Dame cathedral of Amiens 2019 ©Wim Lahaye

Poise, Bravery, and Hope

New Year’s resolutions usually aim at doing something, either more or less. We may intend to do more sports, eat less, smoke less, or even work less. Could we also aim at changing our attitude and state of mind to a certain extent? It may be needed in this time when everyone around us seems to be in deep despair about our future, whether it relates to work, war, immigration, climate, or the dangers of eating Christmas trees.

In this valley of tears, there is really a lot to worry about. Although there is always a slight irony in my blogs, our common tendency to be pessimistic is not totally unjustified. Our fears are triggered by the incredible rate at which everything changes. We are missing solid structures in our lives. The solid structures of religion, marriage, family, work often turn into liquids, and it sometimes looks as if we always need to restart reconstructing them like Sisyphus. It makes us extremely vulnerable. Even worse, pessimism may become self-fulfilling.

My New Year’s resolution would be to stay steadfast in the face of uncertainty. We can’t really decide never to be afraid. Fear is an emotion and usually catches us unexpectedly. We can however try to keep our poise and stay brave in the face of what is coming. The brave attitude is certainly less comfortable than the ‘run away’ or ‘blame it on the others’ attitude but it is the one which we regret the least later on. What keeps us going is the hope. The pessimists may be right but hope never dies.

Picture: pedestrian bridge in Tours, France 2019 ©Wim Lahaye

The Legacy of Dag Hammarskjöld

63 Years ago on September 18^th, 1961, UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash near Ndola in Zambia. The plane crash happened in suspicious circumstances. The TV documentary “Cold Case Hammarskjöld” sheds some light on these circumstances, but the truth remains hidden in secret circles and may never be revealed. Whatever happened, Dag Hammarskjöld is a person worth remembering because of his unwavering integrity and his willingness to do the right thing. There is no doubt about his good intentions. He surely wanted to bring peace and justice to the people of central Africa.

His legacy also includes his writings. His book Vägmärken or Markings reveals a vulnerable soul, willing to bring sacrifices for the greater good of mankind. He was a man of great spirituality.

His death was predicting the misery central Africa would go through in the years after and up until this day. May his remembrance be a stimulus for bringing peace to this part of the world.

Beatus vir qui sperat in eo – Blessed is the man who puts his hope in Him.

I also refer to my blog: Truth and Justice are not found through Alliances

Seek for Advice

Life has always been complicated. Sooner or later in their lives, all people ran into situations where they needed some kind of advice. In the old days, you could get this advice from shamans, priests, counsellors, teachers, witches or just from good friends, which was probably the best. The ancient Greeks, if they were wealthy enough, could travel to the oracle of Delphi to get some advice on what to do next.

In our society, seeking for advice looks easy but may not be that easy. A first impediment for seeking advice is our obsession with autonomy and self-reliance. Everybody is very busy appearing autonomous. Asking for advice requires a certain humility. You may need to recognise someone else for his/her specific competence. Even worse, you may discover you got it all wrong to start with. Any kind of advice, whether free or paid, may require a certain gratitude from you. Gratitude is sometimes difficult to convey.

A second impediment for seeking advice maybe the fact that we feel bombarded by advice already. In the good old days, we needed to ask for scarce information; nowadays information is abundant and thrown at us at megabytes per second. As a result, we develop a defensive attitude towards advice. We remain just as helpless as before as we now need to filter out the rare useful information from the information ocean. Therefore, we still need personal advice, more than ever.

Let us think this week on what topics we may need advice. You can't honour your fellow human being more than by asking advice. Saint Paul's advice would be “to put on the new man” or as we say in Dutch “Enrobe yourself with the new man (person)”. (‘Bekleedt u met de nieuwe mens’). Be a brand-new person. Good advice may lead us to a good life and to reinforced friendship.

I refer to my blog Dare to Expect.

Picture: Delphi, Greece, picture taken in 1991 ©Wim Lahaye

Temperance Saves the World

Temperance is a virtue which doesn’t have a prominent place in economic textbooks. Yet the word economy refers to thrift and frugality. Economy allows you to be self-reliant and to survive with little means.

Our popular culture and our company culture seems to go the opposite direction, the direction of ‘never enough’, or is it simply greed? It is much easier convincing people to do something than convincing them not to do something. The reason is the imagined group loyalty. Pleading against something may be seen as a rebellious act, a result of laziness or complacency. Pleading in favour of something big is seen as positivity, energy, and good willingness. As a result, companies do too much and have a total lack of focus. Hyperactivity and Beschleunigung have become a plague.

Temperance is exactly what companies need now. Instead of asking what they should do, it may be worth asking what they should no longer do. The question is equally important in times of scarcity of resources. Leadership is also shown through temperance.

I refer to my blog: “Economic Justification in a Culture of Scarcity”.

Picture by Curtis Yancey via Pixabay

Leadership and Subjectivity

When Moses arrived on the top of Mount Nebo in Jordan, how did he know this was the land he had announced to his people, the Promised Land? The objective truth is: he didn’t know. Perhaps the view is magnificent as we can see on the picture, but there were other people and other armies down there. It is reasonable to assume Moses got tired roaming through the desert for forty years. Otherwise, there was no objective fact indicating this was the end destination for his people.

The book of Exodus, which tells the story of Israel’s people leaving Egypt under Moses and his brother Aaron’s leadership, is a splendid manual on leadership. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t read the scriptures because they are useful. I read them because I love them. I love them because they are beautiful and because I feel like they could make me a better person. But for those of you who don’t love the scriptures, beware the book of Exodus contains all you need to know about leadership.

The Bible says Moses knew from God. But how does God speak to man? It never happens through objective reasoning. Moses didn’t have any useful objective data that would have allowed him to make a reasonably good decision. Moses knew almost nothing about the land in front of him and the strength of its armies. He needed to rely on his inner voice, through intuition, prayer, belly feeling, dreaming, sense of responsibility and love for his people, in short through his own subjectivity.

If good leadership in difficult circumstances requires subjectivity, it has a serious implication for the leader. The people need to believe him. They need to give him the authority to rely on his personal subjective feelings. They will only do this if they believe he is good, wise and integer. And this belief is usually based on some common experience in extremely bad conditions, such as the experience in the Sinai desert. If the people’s belief gets lost through some negative experience, the leader becomes extremely vulnerable. The leadership crisis we observe today, is due to a lack of common experience in the desert and a lack of willingness to grant authority to someone else, usually because of our own narcissism. The conclusion of this blog is that in leadership, subjectivity is objectively required.

I also refer to my Dutch blogs Leadership and Love and Dreamers Who Do.

Picture: Mount Nebo, Jordan, 2023 Courtesy of Patricia Deneffe

Education, Culture and Virtue

What is the purpose of education? If you gauge the zeitgeist, you think: "acquire sufficient skills to cope with global competition". That's not entirely wrong, but in "The Paradox of Ambition" we already suggested that that is not the (only) purpose of life. So there has to be more. In "The history of progress", Rutger Bregman already wrote that people did not see this as such in the past. In the past, education had to lead mainly to a virtuous life. Postmodern thinkers will suggest this was a typical vice of Christian education, where a virtuous life equalled a Christian life. But Rutger Bregman notes that original liberal thinkers such as John Stuart Mill and Alexis de Tocqueville also pleaded for the virtuous life education. Education was to bring Culture with big C and that Culture had to elevate man to a more virtuous life. It should also not be forgotten that virtue, in a society under construction, could indeed lead to a better life, especially when you consider that zeal and perseverance (the "industria" mentioned earlier) were among those virtues. Peter Drucker also mentions integrity, the virtue par excellence, as an important quality for a manager.

But today you are no longer allowed to talk about people upliftment and if you suggest that education should promote virtue, then the contemporary correct thinkers immediately start to grumble: that cannot be true! If, on the other hand, you suggest that education should improve gender equality, combat racial discrimination, and promote respect for all diversity, then everyone will applaud you. But isn't this just virtue? And isn't this virtue linked to the great Western Culture from which we think it has some unique achievements? Everything depends on how you fill in virtue and today we emphasise other things than yesterday. But virtue is necessary for a good society and it is still the best guarantee to be able to cope with global competition. And there is more: virtue is also necessary at school to come to a good study – climate.

I also refer to my blogs: "Confucius inequality ", "Pressure on Kids",  and to "Virtues and virtutes".

Picture: Giovanni Bosco dedicates his life to education - Oud-Heverlee ©Wim Lahaye

A New Year's Resolution: Wholeheartedness

Wholeheartedness goes a step further than sincerity or honesty. Whoever is honest does not lie and tells the truth. But he/she does not necessarily say everything and does not necessarily show himself completely with all his/her emotions. This can cause problems. Anyone who says yes when given an impossible assignment is not dishonest, but is confronted with a problem due to a lack of wholeheartedness.

In wholeheartedness, the bearer is an open book. He surrenders himself to the listener in full confidence and assumes that the listener has all the capacity to share in the joy and pain that the message brings. The wholehearted person is not only honest in words but also in posture, attitude and interest in the reaction of the other. The wholehearted person approaches the fellow human being with an audacious confidence. He/she is well aware that the listener may not like the message, but consciously acts vulnerably, with his / her imperfections, to get the message into the heart of the listener. The message is so important that all shame and fear of ridicule is overcome.

An interesting question is whether you can learn or practice wholeheartedness. It's a bit like the virtue of patience; it's a passive letting go rather than an active doing. What we have to learn to let go of is the question how we look like and today this is mainly the sensed need to appear 'cool'. It is the most horrible contemporary need by the way, because what is still so nice about being cool when everybody is cool already?

Wholeheartedness can move mountains. But the wholehearted person must lower shields and be willing to be hurt by the fellow man. Wholeheartedness takes courage. But there is something in return. Most people are good and that is why they also appreciate courage and wholeheartedness. So let us make it a very whole-heartfelt year!

Some charismatic leaders are also wholehearted. I refer to the YouTube video of Brené Brown. She doesn't only explain the concept, she also radiates in her speech what wholeheartedness is. Brené Brown on the Building Blocks of Wholeheartedness – The Marginalian

Picture from shutterstock.com

Against the Tide

This book is a posthumous anthology of Roger Scruton's writings, edited by Mark Dooley. Roger Scruton was an eminent British conservative thinker. Conservatism in his opinion is the awareness that many of the good things we enjoy now, are actually the fruit of self-sacrifice from our predecessors and therefore they require protection. It is self-evident that in times of change, this protection is highly needed.

The term sacrifice is all too often associated with abuse and exploitation, whereas sacrifice is actually essential to achieve anything worth pursuing. The mainstream press associates conservatism with populism, as this press considers itself progressive. Conservative thinkers like Roger Scruton also emphasise the fact that citizenship involves obligations for the people who reside here. Therefore also the benefits should return to the people who reside here.

By living among freedom fighters in Eastern Europe before 1989, the author became aware of the transforming effect of sacrifice on the human character. He explains the resistance of countries like Poland and Hungary against Europe. European institutions have no soul and their bureaucracy resembles the bureaucracy of the old communist party. Europe, Quo Vadis?

The author rightfully complains about the destructive work of postmodernism (my wording). The spoilt post-war children sneer at our ideals but never understood why we needed them. Truth, virtue and beauty no longer seem to exist. Our society can never degenerate to a point where vice alone has a following. “When we start to celebrate ugliness, we become ugly too”.

Roger Scruton is extremely critical against modern pedagogy. He detests the jargon created by ‘people who can neither write with skill nor read with understanding’. He is not willing to adopt the art of taking offence, the ‘woke’ or witch-hunt culture, which dominates the social media. He doesn't deny the possibility of injustice but he unmasks the sociologists who detect structural violence behind all power exercised, even power that is a legitimate outcome of consent and compromise.

Scruton also asks why holiness has not retained its meaning to us. Christian faith is now covered with ridicule by trivialising materialists and sarcastic cynics but as the author points out: Christian religion exactly teaches us to accept ridicule. The validity of the Christian message can never be affected by what others think or do. Those who read my blogs from time to time, know that this is a central theme for me.

I refer to my blog The Honour of Humiliation and The Chasm between Populists and Academics. Roger Scruton is also one of the thinkers in the Dutch book Denkers van vandaag voor de wereld van morgen.

The Honour of Humiliation

In our blog Senators are good men we already learned that people seek recognition in the group they belong to. Members of a group tend to behave like selfish sheep. The herd itself behaves like a bad beast. The Russian president became more popular in his country by starting a war. Western leaders have started using warlike language to become more popular as well. Nowadays, at both sides, truth is at risk. Fortunately, in the history of time, there have always been leaders who have been able to stand out. They were not leaders by worldly power; they were leaders by moral authority.

Emile Zola went to prison after having written his famous letter ‘J’accuse’ to the people of France. He did this because he was convinced that truth and justice were more important than power. Other examples include Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dag Hammarskjöld. These people retaliated evil with good. They accepted all the consequences of their unwavering integrity. Thereby they exposed the lack of integrity of the political parties they had to deal with; they also exposed themselves to the aggression of these parties but never changed their opinion to comply with the powerful. They preferred the honour of humiliation over the disgrace of power.

What silent people could do, is support such leaders. We need to recognise Confucius inequality. It will inspire new candidate leaders. After all, nowadays the fools stand out too easily.

I refer to my blogs Ode to Audacity (English) and Leiderschap en Liefde (Dutch).

Picture: Henry de Groux, Zola aux outrages, File:Zolasortie.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Bemoaned Benefits of Boredom

How long is it since you experienced boredom? If you are fifty and still at work, I guess it is a very long time ago. You may remember you experienced as a child the endlessness of time and the sadness of not knowing what to do. On the other hand, you may also remember the benefits of boredom: silence, time, quietness and peace of mind.

All this is no longer possible, due to our social web addiction. If by accident, we get a rare spare moment we immediately waste it on our smartphone or computer. In this way we can only get bored by the nonsense of others. This is a sad thing. It is as if we are afraid to discover our true self.

The loss we experience in this way is the loss of the fruits of boredom. The fruits generated by silence, time, quietness and peace of mind. These fruits are curiosity, creativity, erudition, spirituality and patience. These fruits of boredom bring us much closer to our fellow human being than the superficial hyperactivity displayed in postmodern times on the worldwide web.

Let us change something in our lifestyle.

Picture: Knalfestival exposition KU Leuven library ©Wim Lahaye

Dare to Expect

Before being thrown into 'real' life again, we start making New Year's resolutions. The older you get the more anxious you may become to have high expectations. We tend to become afraid to get disappointed in life, therefore we tend to reduce our ambitions and expectations.

However if we want to achieve something in 2022, we should have high ambitions and expectations. it is true that disappointment may be lurking but if we are mild to ourselves we will never regret an ambitious endeavour. It rather becomes a problem when our ambition was too low and if we were too anxious to start in the first place. We don't really need a perfect outcome, but we should be glad about all progress made.

We should not only dare to expect from ourselves we should also dare to expect from others. Friendship should not only be giving it should also be demanding. We have the right to ask our friends for help and we should have confidence that they are prepared to help us to the extent possible. Again disappointment may be lurking but we should always be mild if our expectations cannot be met.

I refer to my earlier blogs “Ode to Audacity” and “Expectations”.

Picture source: SES

Be resourceful and courageous

In this season, we easily feel angry and passionate about things. We are deeply frustrated about the problems of our time, the small Corona crisis and the big Environment crisis. We show our wit in the media by pointing to the political causes of the problem. In the end however, our sharp view gets lost in an ocean of views. It needs to hide our helplessness and despair in solving the planet’s problems.

In this Sunday’s lectures, Christ assembles his own self-made whip and chases all merchants out of the temple, fulfilling the prophecy: “The passion for God’s house will consume me”(*). Christ’s anger was a sign he cared and so is our anger a sign we care. His anger made him violate the local rules. The rules did not serve their purpose anymore.

When we obediently follow the rules, we may be safe at home and safe for criticism, but a lot of people will miss our compassion and companionship. We may feel very sorry for ourselves, but the Corona crisis hits the poor and the lonely most, those who live in narrow spaces, alone or with the elderly and the sick. They are the victims of the Matthew effect of Misery. Our blind obedience to the rules, without compassion, does not serve any purpose. How can we violate the rules in a smart way? When the impossible needs to be done, we need to look for virtues of people who are used to do the impossible: boy or girl scouts, engineers and entrepreneurs. Resourcefulness and courage are needed most in these impossible times. They are the basis of our resilience.

The word resourceful doesn’t exist in Dutch. We say ‘finding-rich’ (vindingrijk) but this word actually means inventive. The meaning is close however. Resourcefulness is the ability to recognise hidden resources and combine them in a smart and courageous way to achieve the impossible. In the overdose of news we get, I sometimes discover wonderful stories of resourcefulness and courage. The question is whether you can cultivate these abilities or whether you need to be born with them. It is a bit of both. Resourcefulness and courage are powerful blends of virtues and talents (so-called ‘gifts of God’).

(*) Footnote: there is a growing tendency in the catholic church to interpret God’s house as our planet Earth. The lecture can therefore also be understood as a teaching not to mess with the planet.

Inspiration from an article by J. Haers, Kerk & Leven 2021/09.

Picture: Water mill at Arenberg Castle, Leuven ©Wim Lahaye

A New Year's Resolution: Stop the Blame Game

If I were to choose a suited collective New Year's resolution, I would choose stopping the eternal blame game in our society. If something bad happens (e.g. a home for the elderly gets infected by Covid-19), the press immediately indicates potential scapegoats. Something few people seem to understand is: in a complex society like ours, things go wrong and it is not necessarily anybody’s fault. As a leading manager in a large organisation, you may be forced to take decisions, the consequences of which you can’t entirely foresee. What happens in the end, may be the result of a complex interaction between different unpredictable events.

When we think of the Middle Ages, where disease was believed to be caused by witches and devils, we tend to think we belong to an enlightened era, where such nonsense could not prevail. Yet if we look at our daily reactions to bad news, we immediately start with the gallows installation. Sin and guilt are considered obsolete remainders of an all too Christian society, yet sin and guilt have never been more at the centre of attention than now. Confession and penitence on the contrary are no longer permitted. Our mediocracy loves hanging the few excellent people in our society who feel accountable.

The truth is we judge too fast. We can’t imagine being in someone else’s position. Therefore, let us practice mildness. Read my Dutch blog: Het principe van de goede huisvader in een technocratie.