What is the line between hope and utopia? The history of human thought is littered with promises that have ignited hearts and sparked revolutions, followed by bitter disappointments. Is it still worth believing, working, and fighting for change?
A lesson can be learned from simple observation of nature: the seed, once planted in the ground, disappears, dies, only to release its life force and bear fruit. The farmer plants it with the certainty that it will bear fruit, even if he doesn't see it sprout. But only in this way is life transmitted and perpetuated throughout the generations.
Each of us also has the opportunity to sow seeds of life around us, in a land that may be arid and even inhospitable. Let us do so with the certainty of the harvest. Let us encourage others and together prepare the conditions for sowing peace, hope, and happiness. We will have the strength of community.
Let us sow with generosity, believing that the future will bring us the fruits. This is the experience of great politicians, those who believe that only by making courageous decisions can we build a better world, even at the cost of their courage in the short-sighted perspective of the next elections. This is the same experience of parents who know how to raise their children with an eye to the future, even if it is difficult to set a coherent educational example, or of teachers who do not pursue the easy popularity of the moment. This is the experience we can have despite the difficulties it entails. Each of us can feel the strength of being part of a greater project if we know how to look to the future in the dimension of the common good and not in the immediate perspective of petty personal interest.
The tragedy of our time, according to some sociologists, lies not so much in economic crises as in living imprisoned by fear, anger, and distrust of the present and the future. And this paralyzes and impedes the progress of civil society. "Trust" (in others, in the future, in the outcome of our actions even beyond ourselves) could be the most important word for launching a true social revolution. Hatred annihilates; love always conquers and bears fruit.
In Italy, in 1994, an American boy, Nicholas Green, was fatally wounded by mistaken identity during an attempted robbery. The news was shocking, headlines spoke of revenge, and a climate of hatred grew. Until the boy's parents made a resounding gesture: "Nicholas," they said, "loved life and loved Italy." They didn't ask for revenge, but rather expressed the wish that his organs could be donated to give life to others. It was a shocking sign: justice took its course, but this act transcended the brief period of the news and became a seed that bore fruit. Today, 30 years later, many remember Nicholas and his family. And in Italy, the culture of organ donation has grown enormously.
