Time to Be Responsible Adults

Michael Laitman
3 min readJul 30, 2021

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Let’s face it, we’re egoists. We don’t like each other, and even worse, we think there’s nothing wrong with it. We start measuring our attitude toward others from the zero point. That is, feeling indifference toward others is our starting point, our zero, and from there we begin to judge: If I have some affection toward another person, it’s considered good. If I dislike a person, it is considered bad.

We have entered a new phase in our development. The singular system that we all comprise has become so entwined that we can no longer remain neutral. Everything we do that does not help all people and all things, hurts them, and therefore us.

This attitude is what brought us to where we are now, and the more we continue with it, the more we accelerate our decline. This is true not only of the social level, where human relations are obviously the key factor, but it also applies to every realm. From wars through poverty to climate change, our negative attitude toward each other is the cause of our misfortunes. It is time for us to realize that through our egoistic, narcissistic attitude toward others, we are leading the world on a downward spiral. Now we must become responsible adults and conduct ourselves as such.

We have entered a new phase in our development. The singular system that we all comprise has become so entwined that we can no longer remain neutral. Everything we do that does not help all people and all things, hurts them, and therefore us.

Additionally, the time between our mistakes and their consequences is growing shorter. We have always been dependent on each other; we have always influenced each other through our positive or negative thoughts and actions. These days, this mutual dependence is becoming evident. It is absolute and there is nowhere to escape. This is why it is imperative that we become considerate, kind, and caring toward each other, since each of us affects all of us in everything we do. It may be unpleasant news, but it is not nearly as unpleasant as the consequences of our refusal to acknowledge reality. The 121°F in British Columbia and the floods in Western Europe are but the prelude. The future will be much worse unless we act.

I am not saying this to scare people. I am saying this to bring it to everyone’s attention, since there is still time for us to prevent the cataclysm. The more we talk about it and think about it, the easier it will be for us to reverse the trajectory.

When we look at the climate and the natural and manmade disasters happening around the world, they may indeed seem incurable. But we must remember that besides us, everything in nature is in perfect harmony with everything else. Where there is harmony, there is balance and such disasters as we’ve seen this summer do not happen. The only place where there is no harmony or balance is among us, in human society. In other words, the upheavals we are seeing merely reflect the upheaval unfolding among us. If we restore harmony among us, the only element off balance in existence will regain stability and the storm will subside.

This is why we must work so hard on nurturing kindness and caring toward each other. Since we’re all egoists, having a neutral stance gives the upper hand to negative forces, which then reflect on all levels of existence. To balance out our inherent negative attitude, we must create an equally powerful positive attitude. This is something we can do only if we all pull together and resolve to install love, kindness, and caring where there are currently hatred, egoism, and dislike.

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Michael Laitman
Michael Laitman

Written by Michael Laitman

PhD in Philosophy and Kabbalah. MSc in Medical Bio-Cybernetics. Founder and president of Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute.

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