I love China and everything to do with Chinese language, culture and history, so I soaked up Melissa’s talk like a sponge. One thing that struck me was how massive Confucius’ goal was. He basically wanted to pinpoint and solve one of the biggest challenges we face: finding world peace. This is something kids say when they’re asked at school what they want to do in their lives (“SAVE THE WORLD!”) but here Confucius was, trying his best to actually crack the code to truly achieving this. His idea that peace starts at the smallest level in our personal lives (aligning our affairs) is still strong today (“I’m starting with the man in the mirror”) and his strong emphasis on education is very present in our current world.
I find it amazing how someone who was thinking about these things SO LONG AGO is still so relevant to us in 2019. Maybe he was right in saying that there is innate goodness in everyone. If there wasn’t, why would we still care about world peace in the first place? I know that not everyone does care, and that society is a major player in developing our ideologies, but I don’t believe that my care for other beings is only a result of society. Perhaps Confucius and I are overly optimistic, but I think there is still so much good in the world, despite what the newspapers tell us.
