Two years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the COVID-19 pandemic was no longer a public health emergency. Yet its psychological and social aftershocks continue to ripple through societies, fragmenting communities once gripped by fear and fueling political extremism.
Several studies have now confirmed what many suspected: the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns had a profound impact on mental health worldwide. For the first time in history, scientists were able to observe the effects of collective fear on a truly global scale.
The Emotional Toll
While experiences varied across regions and communities, several broad patterns emerged:
Prolonged uncertainty, isolation, and fear led to widespread anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Eroding trust became a defining feature, as people grew confused and skeptical toward governments, media, and even science amid rapidly shifting information.
Collective grief settled over the world, a mourning not only for lost lives, but also for lost time, normalcy, and connection.
Shifting Social Landscapes
Communities fractured along new fault lines with differing views on vaccines, lockdowns, and mask mandates dividing families, friends, and neighbors. Technology became both a lifeline and a liability: it kept people connected yet deepened isolation, fatigue, and exposure to misinformation and conspiracy theories.
The Mind–Body Connection
Emotional stress is one of the most significant threats to both mental and physical health. Neuroscience and medical research have long shown that chronic activation of the body’s stress response can harm nearly every system, especially the immune and cardiovascular systems.
The Whitehall Studies in the U.K. found that chronic job stress increases the risk of heart disease.
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study revealed that early-life emotional trauma elevates the risk of chronic illness in adulthood.
The link between mind and body is undeniable—but so too is our capacity for resilience.
Cultivating Resilience
Research shows that stress resilience or the ability to recover from emotional adversity can buffer these effects. Protective factors include:
Strong social connections
Spiritual or faith practices
Mindfulness and meditation
Regular exercise and restorative sleep
A deep sense of purpose or meaning
A Shared Awakening
The pandemic also ignited a global period of reflection on mortality, interdependence, and renewal. Many rediscovered spirituality, nature, and the quiet power of mindfulness. For perhaps the first time in modern memory, humanity was united by a shared awareness of its own fragility.
A Creative Rebirth
For me personally, the lockdown became a period of unexpected inspiration. It was during this time that I began writing my novel Sages, Saints and Sinners. In my research, I discovered haunting parallels between our modern experience and the Black Death of medieval times, echoing the same fear, isolation, and uncertainty, followed ultimately by rebirth.
Only moments after news broke that a young suspect had allegedly killed American right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, social media erupted in a frenzy of conspiracy theories. The scene felt eerily familiar, much like the wave of accusations and blame that followed after another young man narrowly missed assassinating Donald Trump last year
What gets lost in the noise of speculation and outrage is a sober analysis of a deeper crisis: why do we have millions of disaffected young men, many struggling with mental health, who are willing to pick up a gun to make their pain known?
An alarming number of these young men are filling their “purpose void” by clinging to extremist groups that promise them antiquated, hyper-masculine role models. Recent election trends in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and within America’s MAGA movement reveal a dangerous regression: large swathes of young men are gravitating toward demagogic macho cultures led by right-wing authoritarian figureheads who thrive on their grievances, anger, and lack of self-esteem.
Contrary to the narrative put out by much of the right-wing media ecosystem, including Donald Trump, the majority of politically-motivated violence committed in the United States comes from the right and not from the radical left, according to a detailed study (Duran, Celinet. 2021)
“Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamic extremists, including 227 events that took more than 520 lives. In the same period, far-left extremists committed 42 ideologically motivated attacks that took 78 lives,” the study summarizes.
On the island of Mallorca, where I live, I regularly witness another side of this crisis. Especially in the summer months, groups of intoxicated young male tourists flood beaches and holiday resorts, behaving with little regard for social norms or basic decency. Their drinking, brawling, and even defecating in public spaces have become so disruptive that local civic groups are pressuring authorities to enforce strict policing and high fines. For me, it is a vivid, almost daily reminder of how quickly young men, when stripped of purpose and responsibility, can descend into destructive, tribal behavior. What might appear as “holiday fun” on the surface exposes the deeper cultural sickness: a generation of young men searching for meaning in the bottom of a beer bottle, in the adrenaline of a fight, or in the temporary dominance of taking over a public space.
This trend is unfolding at a time when women are excelling—academically, professionally, and socially—at unprecedented levels. In the United States, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that in 2020, 59% of all undergraduates were women. In the 2019–2020 academic year, women earned 60% of master’s degrees and 54% of doctoral degrees. Higher education is translating into better access to high-paying jobs, even in traditionally male-dominated fields like technology and engineering.
The “Purpose Void”
For generations, boys found meaning in roles as warriors, leaders, or sole breadwinners. Today, those traditional roles are fading, leaving many bright young men adrift—alienated, withdrawn, and often addicted to instant gratification. Psychologists Warren Farrell and John Gray argue that compulsive gaming and digital distractions are exacerbating attention problems like ADHD, compounding the sense of purposelessness.
The consequences are severe. Suicide rates among young men soar to six times that of young women. Many of these young men eventually turn to ultramasculine role models, where empowerment is equated with violence, weaponry, and membership in extremist male-only groups.
The pattern is clear: demagogues prey on their discontent, offering simple answers and a return to an “idealized” patriarchal past. Outsiders—immigrants, minorities, or anyone different—become scapegoats. A dystopian promise emerges: a reborn patriarchy led by a “fatherly” figure who will restore order.
It Takes a Village
This is not to dismiss the courageous efforts of single mothers, many of whom raise healthy, caring, and successful sons despite enormous challenges. But we cannot ignore that the overwhelming majority of violent crime is committed by men. In the U.S., more than nine times as many men as women have been incarcerated at some point in their lives. Men also experience higher victimization rates for nearly every category of violent crime.
African wisdom offers a clue to solutions. The proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” underscores the importance of community in raising the next generation. A Swahili saying echoes the same truth: “Whomsoever is not taught by the mother will be taught by the world.”
Traditional African societies understood child-rearing as a communal responsibility. By contrast, in modern industrialized nations, single mothers are too often left without support—bearing the double burden of earning a living while raising children. With the exception of Nordic countries and parts of Europe, state support for early childcare and education is minimal, leaving long-term social costs far greater than the investments required.
Resilient children are raised in resilient communities. They learn values and social skills not just from parents but from grandparents, uncles, aunts, mentors, and family friends. They are shaped by role models who find purpose in service, not just in short-term gratification.
A Way Forward
While extremist movements exploit the vulnerabilities of young men by blaming external enemies, the true crisis lies within. Addressing it requires a multi-layered approach:
Promote healthy models of masculinity that normalize emotional openness, empathy, and vulnerability.
Foster peer support and mentorship so young men have safe spaces to share struggles and learn from older role models.
Invest in community programs—team sports, skill-building workshops, and local initiatives—that counter isolation with belonging and purpose.
Right now, we are witnessing the rise of the most dangerous species on earth: young men in their early twenties with access to a gun. We cannot allow demagogues to hijack their pain, feeding them a false sense of empowerment rooted in violence, toxic masculinity, and nostalgia for a patriarchal past.
If we want a safer and healthier future, we must fill the purpose void, before others do.
Nihilism is the despair that comes when all higher meaning collapses and life is reduced to emptiness
– Sören Kierkegaard –
The world sometimes feels as if it is unraveling before our eyes. Truth is no longer truth, values are mocked, and meaning itself is up for debate. Kierkegaard warned of this kind of despair and the disease that spreads when a higher purpose is abandoned. In this hollow space, populist narratives rush in, manipulating with outrage, stripping away nuance, and discarding the responsibility for a common humanity.
University of Virginia sociologist James Davison Hunter warns that a new common culture is emerging that is chillingly nihilistic. He defines this culture with the drive to destroy, observing how fear, demonization, and rigid divisions dominate political life, leaving many unable or unwilling to negotiate, compromise, or even recognize shared humanity.
“A nihilistic culture is defined by the drive to destroy, by the will to power. And that definition now describes the American nation,” Hunter writes.
Hunter points out that a politicized identity “is formed and sustained by way of negation. Its emergence as well as its persistence depend on an active and hostile enemy. What naturally follows is rage, hatred, and a thirst for “a capable and wide revenge” that, in a twisted way, becomes a source of meaning—a raison d’être—for those who see themselves as victims.”
In the same vein, Noam Chomsky emphasizes that meaning in life is built through lived experience and collective responsibility. Acts that reduce suffering, preserve dignity, or advance freedom create meaning in a world that can otherwise feel void. For Chomsky, moral clarity stems from recognizing our shared humanity and universal ethical standards, while moral responsibility entails choosing to act on them. Nihilism, despair, or relativism, in his view, are excuses that allow people to avoid this work.
He has also criticized postmodernism for being obscure, relativistic, and politically disengaged—warning that societies risk moral collapse if they lose sight of truth and responsibility.
Modern life compounds these challenges. Constant information, endless obligations, and persistent anxieties can erode spirit and energy. The solution isn’t hustling harder; it’s pausing, reflecting, and breathing deeply. It’s grounding yourself in love and acceptance, trusting that you are guided and protected by reconnecting with your spiritual self.
Recently, the words of American monk and author Brother David Steindl-Rast came to mind. He doesn’t argue against nihilism like philosophers do; he simply invites us to notice this: “It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” Gratitude, he reminds us, doesn’t depend on joy—it creates it.
In his book Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer, Steindl-Rast describes gratefulness as “the inner gesture of giving meaning to our life by receiving life as a gift.”It begins with simple surprise—a rainbow, a warm smile, the sound of a bird—opening the door to joy. Being thankful awakens us to the blessings around us and becomes the linchpin of a life animated by faith, lifted by hope, and nurtured by love.
In an age dominated by nihilism, gratitude is an act of resistance. It stitches meaning back into life.
Here’s a simple, actionable antidote to nihilism:
Each morning or evening, pause and reflect on three things from the past 24 hours for which you are truly grateful. Feel the gratitude fully. Notice what shifts in your heart and mind. Watch how even small moments of appreciation counteract negativity, restore meaning, and reconnect you to the life that surrounds you.
Gratitude is more than a practice—it’s a rebellion against emptiness, a return to purpose, and a daily homecoming for the soul.
I’ve been contemplating one of Rilke’s poems lately. It has stayed with me because it speaks so directly to our world today, where noise and distractions pull from all directions. Rilke envisions a silence so profound that all the noise, chatter, busyness of the senses, and endless distractions simply fall away.
And, in that stillness, he says, we might finally glimpse the divine with full clarity.
If only it would be, just once, completely quiet… If only it would be, just once, completely quiet. If the random, and the approximate went mute, and the neighbors’ laughter, if the noise that my senses make wouldn’t so stubbornly keep me from waking– Then I could, in a thousandfold thought, think you right to the edge of you and have you (just a smile long), to give to all life as a gift like a thank-you.
Reading this, I couldn’t help but notice how often we treat noise, chatter, and distraction as normal. Yet maybe our constant talking, scrolling, and background hum are really a way of avoiding something scarier: just sitting with the stillness within.
Stillness can feel so unsettling because it invites us to hear the inner voice we’ve been ignoring, the voice of authenticity, of truth, of God. Rilke reminds me that silence isn’t empty at all. It’s a threshold. If we dare to step into it, we may discover presence, gratitude, and a deeper connection with life than all our distractions could ever offer.
You could also take a walk in nature, opening the senses to natural sounds that are different from noise. Birdsong, the waters of a creek, the rustling of leaves in the trees—all of it forms a beautiful symphony. In those moments, you can feel yourself connected to a larger whole and begin to perceive the subtle whispers of the universe.
So here’s a simple practice: find just five minutes today to sit in stillness. Turn off the phone, close your eyes, and notice the quiet beneath the noise. At first it may feel uncomfortable, but stay with it. Listen for that subtle inner voice—the one that whispers rather than shouts. You may find, as Rilke did, that in the stillness something sacred begins to stir.
Authoritarian movements are not historical accidents. They are the outcome of a long, steady erosion of the moral and spiritual foundations that once underpinned Western societies. The Judaic-Christian values that emphasized community, compassion, and responsibility have weakened, leaving a vacuum filled by grievance culture and divisive tribalism.
A growing number of people feel frustrated, aggrieved, and desperate as societies fracture between the privileged and the left-behind. Rapid technological disruption and sweeping social changes have upended long-held certainties. Entire communities have been dislocated, and the Covid-19 pandemic only deepened the sense of instability and loss.
Traditional institutions in education, religion, media, and politics have not addressed the alienation felt by millions. Students of history will recognize these conditions. Today’s authoritarian movements bear an uncanny resemblance to the turmoil and mass manipulation of the late 1920s and 1930s.
In A Preface to Morals (1929), Walter Lippmann foresaw the dangers of moral relativism and cultural drift:
“When men can no longer be the slaves of tradition, they must be the slaves of reason. If they will not be slaves of reason, they must be the slaves of their passions… And if each man is to judge for himself what is true and false, right and wrong, then we are already at the end of civilization.”
Authoritarian movements offer the illusion of safety and belonging. But instead, they further tear apart the fabric of civil society. Families, communities, and congregations fracture into warring factions, each loyal to its own tribe, and its own version of truth.
The Role of Media
Traditional media once acted as a civic compass, a watchdog of power. But in the digital age, social media algorithms amplify the most extreme, emotional, and divisive content. Outrage sells; nuance does not. Facts struggle to compete with feelings. In this climate, truth is no longer a shared destination but a weapon of personal or political gain.
The Sacrifice of Traditional Values
This is fertile ground for demagogues who distort Judaic-Christian values beyond recognition. Empathy is rebranded as a fatal flaw. Power is idolized; the weak and vulnerable are mocked as “parasites.” Even the medieval theology of ordo amoris—originally a call to rightly ordered love—is weaponized to justify a hierarchy of compassion: prioritize citizens over foreigners, neighbors over strangers. In this logic, cutting humanitarian aid for millions of people becomes not just acceptable, but righteous.
Yet most theologians, including Pope Francis, have challenged this interpretation. He reminds us that unconditional love lies at the heart of the Christian faith, and that true morality cannot be confined to borders or tribal interests. The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches that love recognizes no boundary.
As former U.S. President Jimmy Carter once put it:
“It is the weak nation that must behave with bluster, boasting, rashness, and other signs of insecurity.” Strong societies practice humility. They uphold compassion, generosity, and justice—especially toward the most vulnerable.
The Choice Before Us
With traditional norms under siege and authoritarianism corroding democratic institutions, the burden of responsibility falls on we the people, every one of us. Troubled times, however grim, present a profound opportunity for reflection and moral clarity. There will come the realization that there is no hero coming and no savior on the horizon.
Change begins within—when individuals reclaim their agency, resist distraction, and choose courage over comfort. But it cannot end there. Lasting transformation happens when people come together, organize with purpose, and hold power to account.
For democracy to endure, it must do more than preserve procedures. It must recover its soul and the shared commitment to truth, moral responsibility, and compassion.
A democracy worthy of its name serves all people, not just the powerful elite. It confronts inequality, ensures access to healthcare, housing, and education, and defends the dignity of every human being. It protects the environment not as an afterthought, but as a sacred trust, recognizing that the future of life itself depends on how we care for the Earth today.
Democracy ultimately is not merely a system of governance. It is an expression of our collective values. And its survival depends on whether we are willing to live them.
Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor –Speaker
P.S: If you enjoyed this article you might be interested in my very latest book: Sages, Saints and Sinners Get it today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and where all good books are sold.
It doesn’t take a coup or a dictator to kill a democracy. Sometimes, the rot begins from within, in slow motion and in plain sight.
Across America and other traditional democracies, the checks and balances that are foundational in free societies are being chipped away.
If history teaches us anything, it’s this: when authoritarianism rules everyone loses—freedom, dignity, truth, and the very social fabric that makes us human.
The grim reality of authoritarian rule
Envision yourself living in a country where even the mildest critique of the ruler could land you behind bars or strip you of your livelihood. The airwaves echo incessant hymns of praise for the leader, while simultaneously stoking hate towards both real and imagined adversaries. Meanwhile, your son lives in constant fear, knowing he could be conscripted at any moment into a futile war.
This is a grim reality in Russia and a growing number of countries, casting a shadow over the lives of its citizens.
Alarmingly, this pattern could potentially spread to democracies where generations have relished unparalleled freedoms, blissfully unaware of the true implications of authoritarian rule and its pervasive influence on society.
Across the globe, we witness a gradual erosion of fundamental liberties and democratic principles. Even within Western democracies long considered bastions of stability, nefarious political factions are becoming mainstream, posing a major threat to the established order.
The Democracy Index for 2019 found that democratic backsliding across the world has led to the worst score since the index was first produced in 2006, with only 5.7 percent of the global population living in what could be considered a “full democracy.”
A Berlin-based leading Civil liberties network has warned that the rule of law is declining across the European Union as far-right parties continue to weaken legal and democratic checks and balances. Liberties in entrenched democracies such as Sweden and Italy are in a gradual process of retreat and risk becoming systematic, according to the 2024 Liberties Rule of Law Report.
Democracy and civil liberties take many decades to be entrenched in society while it takes only one government to dismantle everything. Freedom of the press can be stifled overnight, opposition parties banned or intimidated, and judges and civil service members replaced with regime-friendly acolytes. All this has played out in Hungary, once a democratic country but now under authoritarian rule of Victor Urban.
The frightening scenario is that the process takes place gradually and incrementally with an electorate sleepwalking into authoritarianism.
We need only to look at history to understand how quickly basic freedoms can be usurped when a society fails to heed the warning signs. Adolf Hitler’s ultimate plan to extinguish the Jewish population with a German Reich controlling all of Europe was clearly outlined in his 1925 autobiographical manifesto “Mein Kampf”, compounding existing beliefs, fears, and xenophobia.
When opinion becomes an entrenched belief when truth becomes a lie and the mind refuses to accept an alternative idea or perspective, it is but a short road to authoritarianism.
Hitler’s explicit racial theories were openly portrayed in “Mein Kampf” and in his speeches before coming to power: Jews, Slavs, and other non-Aryan groups were described as subhuman and deserving of extermination or subjugation. His vision for a racially pure society involved the systematic elimination of “undesirable” populations that eventually culminated in the Holocaust. People in the mid-1920s failed to fully comprehend Hitler’s intentions for territorial expansion (Lebensraum) and the establishment of a racially pure Aryan state.
The suppression of dissent, the elimination of political opposition, and the manipulation of propaganda to indoctrinate the German population with Nazi ideology was introduced gradually. The policy of appeasement with influential groups of Nazi sympathizers in the United States, Britain, and other countries, eventually paved the way for one of the darkest periods in human history.
Authoritarianism goes against all human dignity and essentially gives power to a single ruler or small clique that inevitably ends up enriching itself at a terrible cost to the majority of the population. It is a one-way street where everyone loses.
Democracy can only endure when it is grounded in a robust system of checks and balances, supported by a vigilant and critical civil society. The authoritarian regimes of the last century unleashed unimaginable catastrophes, including two world wars and a genocide unparalleled in human history.
At its core, democracy champions freedom of expression, individual liberty, and tolerance. It allows you to fully express and live your potential without fearing repression and control by a state.
Democracy can be chaotic, messy and loud, allowing a platform and freedom of speech for everyone.
Yet, these very values are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation by extremists. Before we fully recognize the threat, power can fall into the hands of individuals whose sole aim is personal advantage, subjugation and control.
Authoritarianism, grounded in fixed belief and fanaticism ultimately creates a toxic emotional state, blending fear, anxiety, and anger. It fosters dehumanization, deepens political polarization, and fractures social cohesion.
On a personal level, it becomes a significant barrier to self-growth and spiritual evolution. In a rapidly changing world, adapting is essential for survival. Clinging to rigid beliefs not only limits personal transformation but also blinds you to the new opportunities and possibilities the universe continually offers.
Throughout history, one of the most potent catalysts of conflict and war has been humanity’s deep-seated addiction to rigid concepts and beliefs, particularly those rooted in religion, ideology, and political affiliation. These mental fixations often block the path to growth, empathy, and the elevation of consciousness.
While society rightly highlights the dangers of substance addictions like alcohol and drugs, we often overlook an equally destructive force: the psychological and emotional dependence on fixed worldviews. This addiction becomes especially visible during periods of rapid social upheaval and crisis. In such times, people often cling even more tightly to their beliefs, seeking certainty in a world that feels uncertain.
At the heart of these belief systems lies a refusal to entertain alternative perspectives. Even when faced with overwhelming evidence or scientific data, those entrenched in ideological thinking will often reject reason itself. For many, admitting they might be wrong is more terrifying than death. They become prisoners of their own convictions.
Scapegoating and misinformation
The COVID-19 pandemic offered a sobering modern example. As the virus swept across the globe, so too did a parallel wave of conspiracy theories, scapegoating, and misinformation. Rational discourse was drowned out by fanaticism. In many places, especially the United States, this led to deepening political polarization and extremism. Civil debate between differing political camps has become virtually impossible.
During the lockdown, I delved into the social consequences of previous pandemics. One of the most harrowing was the Black Plague of the 14th century, which devastated Europe and left cities and countrysides empty for decades. Faced with unimaginable death, people sought easy answers. In Strasbourg, a vicious rumor claimed Jews had poisoned the water wells, leading to the massacre of the city’s Jewish population. Those who were different—whether in religion, race, or opinion—were blamed.
In my latest book,Sages, Saints and Sinners, I explore how two central characters respond to such a crisis. While some individuals rise to the occasion with compassion and courage, others descend into violence and hatred. This story, rooted in historical truth, offers a mirror to our turbulent times. I encourage you to read it as a call to self-reflection.
Just like substance addiction, ideological addiction often stems from unresolved trauma and fear. In times of economic uncertainty or personal crisis, people gravitate toward simple answers to complex problems. This is the moment when deceivers step in, offering an easy scapegoat: You are not the problem—it’s “them.” The others. The outsiders. Those who think, look, or believe differently from you.
This narrative is tragically familiar. It has fueled genocides, invasions, land thefts, torture, witch hunts, and pogroms. History is littered with the consequences of belief systems weaponized against fellow human beings.
Healing begins within
Ideological fixation poisons the mind. The path to healing begins with honest inner reflection. We must each ask:
What lies beneath my anger, my sadness, my resentment? How can I transmute these emotions into love, compassion, and understanding?
The responsibility rests with each of us. Our highest calling and our divine purpose is to cultivate and spread love. Love that transcends division. Love that sees the humanity in all beings. Love that embraces life in its fullness.
This is the true revolution. And it begins within.
Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor –Speaker
P.S: If you enjoyed this article you might be interested in my very latest book: Sages, Saints and Sinners Get it today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and where all good books are sold.
There’s a bird that has fascinated me since childhood—the hoopoe.
With its elegant crown, zebra-striped wings, and quiet mystery, it’s always felt like more than just a bird. Here in Mallorca, a whole family of them lives in my garden, and I often watch them flit from tree to ground, moving with purpose and poise. But just the other day, one came unusually close—right up to my window.
We looked at each other for a moment. Still. Silent.
There was a sense that something was being exchanged without words. A subtle pause in time.
Was it a blessing? A message?
The Hoopoe as Spiritual Guide
In ancient literature and spiritual tradition, the hoopoe is no ordinary bird. It is said to move between the seen and unseen realms—a spiritual guide and messenger of deeper truths.
In the Persian classic The Conference of the Birds, the hoopoe leads a group of birds on a perilous inner journey, urging them to face their fears and seek union with the Divine. It doesn’t offer easy answers—it calls them to transformation.
That moment at the window made me wonder: What is the hoopoe inviting me to see? What fear am I being called to face? What truth am I being asked to follow?
The Noise of the World and the Power of Whispers
We live in a world where the loudest voices often get the most attention. Where urgency, anxiety, and constant stimulation pull us in every direction. It’s so easy to be swept into the maelstrom of noise, to live in reaction rather than reflection.
And yet, life doesn’t always speak in volume.
Sometimes, the most important messages come not with noise—but with presence. Not in shouting—but in whispers.
These whispers can take many forms. They are gentle nudges that awaken something within us and guide us back to our soul’s purpose:
A sudden encounter with an animal or bird rich in symbolic meaning
A word, song, or conversation that strikes a deep, unexpected chord
A chance meeting with a stranger who feels like a messenger
A chapter in a book that completely shifts your path
A Whisper That Changed Everything
That last one happened to me.
Years ago, I picked up The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho. I read it in one night. And something inside me stirred awake. That book became a whisper—a gentle push that led me to walk the Camino de Santiago for the first time in 2006.
At the time, I was living in a dysfunctional marriage, navigating a stressful job, and anchored in a place that never truly felt like home. But that quiet invitation—a story—shifted the course of my life.
Becoming Who We Truly Are
I’ve come to believe, deeply and wholeheartedly, that every soul is born with a purpose.
Life is not about becoming someone new. It is about remembering who we truly are. We are sculpted by experience, softened through struggle, awakened by beauty. The adventure of life is the gradual unfolding of the self.
As Carl Gustav Jung once wrote:
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”
But this becoming doesn’t happen in the noise. It happens in stillness—in the quiet space where truth can finally reach us.
An Invitation to Pause
So, today I invite you: Step away from the noise.
Take a walk in nature. Open your senses to the miracle of sight, smell, and touch. Breathe deeply. Sit in stillness. Offer gratitude—for your breath, your being, and the mystery of your life.
You are not random. You are not alone. You are part of something vast and sacred—a web of meaning, love, and purpose.
And sometimes, all it takes to remember that… is a whisper.
Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor –Speaker
P.S: If you enjoyed this article you might be interested in my very latest book: Sages, Saints and Sinners Get it today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and where all good books are sold.
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Victor Frankl
In just nine days after being liberated from a Nazi death camp, Viktor Frankl poured his unimaginable ordeal into one of the most profound testaments to human resilience and the indomitable spirit ever written.
Upon his return to Vienna he found that his wife and almost entire family had died in concentration camps.
Most people would have been broken by such devastating pain, but Frankl managed to turn his suffering into a powerful pschological and spiritual mission.
His book: Man‘s Search for Meaning serves as a powerful guideline for all people currently experiencing almost insurmountable difficulties.
Frankl firmly believed that meaning can be found even in the most harsh conditions.
Purpose
Essential for Frankl was a firm belief in the Why.
Knowing your „why” helped people survive even the most brutal conditions, Frankl found. For him, it was the hope of seeing his wife again and the desire to rewrite his lost manuscript on his logotherapy psychological theory.
Detachment
He learned to detach from his suffering by focusing on memories, nature, and moments of beauty or spiritual reflection. He found that even in the camps, one could choose a different mindset—what he called the “last of human freedom.
Helping Others
As a psychiatrist, Frankl often counseled fellow prisoners, helping them find meaning and hope. This act of service gave him a sense of dignity and reinforced his own resilience.
Focusing on the Present
Frankl adapted to the harsh camp routines by focusing on small daily tasks and not letting himself be overwhelmed by fear of the future.
Belief
Recent groundbreaking studies reveal that individuals who anchor their lives in the belief in a higher power demonstrate significantly greater resilience in navigating and transforming adversity.
Evil has a persistent way of manifesting itself, sometimes infecting entire nations and societies—as seen in Nazi Germany. It can appear all-powerful, overwhelming any hope for goodness to prevail.
Yet, history shows that in the darkest hours, seeds of light and righteousness are quietly sown, preparing the way for a new dawn. Evil, by its nature, violates the deeper laws of creation. It tends to overreach—and in doing so, ultimately sows the seeds of its own destruction.
Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor –Speaker
If you enjoyed this article you might be interested in my very latest book: Sages, Saints and Sinners Get it today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and where all good books are sold.
In times of crisis, prayer can become a sacred act of surrender and spiritual growth. When we release the need to control, prayer opens a quiet space where the soul can rest, realign, and remember its connection to the greater Oneness.
Regardless of religious background, contemplative prayer can serve as a lifeline, anchoring the soul in resilience and peace. By turning inward and detaching from external distractions, we remember who we truly are.
The great 13th-century Mystic Meister Eckart describes his concept of prayer as one of “Gebet aus ledigem Gemüt”, which translates from the German as a prayer detached from the conceptual mind – a turning inward to the heart-mind.
The two eyes of the soul
Eckart describes the soul as having two eyes. The soul’s inner eye is that which sees into being, and derives its being without any mediation from God.
The soul’s outer eye is turned toward all creatures, observing them as images and through the ‘powers.’
“Any man who is turned in on himself, so as to know God by His own taste and in His own ground, that man is made free of all created things, and is enclosed in himself in a very castle of truth.
As I once said, our Lord came to his disciples on Easter day behind closed doors.
So it is with this man who is freed from all otherness and all createdness: God does not come into this man – He is essentially within him.” (Meister Eckhart, The Complete Works of Meister Eckhart, Sermon 66, Page 336)
For Eckhart, prayer “aus ledigem Gemüt” was a contemplative state of inner stillness with the soul liberated from all egoic desire and becoming receptive to the Divine presence, driven not by need but by love and union.
What we ask for may not serve our highest good
According to Meister Eckhart, God cannot always grant our requests, for we may still be in a state of unpreparedness. What we ask for may not serve our highest good, or it may simply not be the right time.
Like the soil that must first be tilled, the soul requires a practiced detachment. A receptiveness to divine gifts can only come by letting go of ego and desires. When we are prepared we receive not only what we ask for, but perceive the miracles of the very presence of God within all things. Without such preparation, we risk spoiling both the gift and the giver.
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