It would be foolish to turn our backs entirely on the past. And it would also be foolish to fail in the comprehension of what we have to learn from it. But this does not mean that we are to live in it. Not to feel the clamant urgency of the present is to fit one's eyes with blinders. There is only one way whereby we can bury the troubled mental pictures of an unhappy past and an uncertain future, and that way is to create a worthwhile present. It is needful to comprehend that there is no other way open for humanity except to make the creative effort needed to start a genuine new life. If it starts a pretended new one or a camouflaged old one, then all the troubles which it is seeking to escape will once more descend on its head. To look backwards for guidance will be to look for trouble. The old passé point of view was good for its period but has now fulfilled its function and lost its creativity. It must be displaced by a timelier one. Humanity must look forwards and let the dead bury the dead if it is to save itself. The problem today is not how best to return to the customs and complexes of a past phase which was long ago finished with, but how best to advance to the creations and visions of a new one. Humanity is called upon to keep in mind the inner developments, the outer events, and the spiritual significance of what is happening everywhere. And this can be done only by appreciating the inner significance of this sensational epoch. It provides an opportunity for mental expansion which may be accepted comprehendingly or rejected ignorantly. Acceptance may be a bitter drink at first but will be sweet in the end, whereas rejection may be sweet at first but will certainly be bitter in the end. That is why humanity must be realistic while not renouncing its ideals and must do the utmost that can be done under the circumstances, fortified by the knowledge that an upward movement will quite quickly attract divine support. Indeed, it is moving at a speed that makes a dramatic and dynamic changeover in this direction from materialistic ideas urgent and imperative.
-- Notebooks Category 13: Human Experience > Chapter 4 : World Crisis > # 221
