No man is an island

Lower wages, higher cost of living, unemployment, property taxes, taxes on the poor, pensions being cut, austerity measures: these are the subjects that monopolize conversations among friends today. Surprisingly, everyone agrees!

These past years something has started to change in the way we perceive things, in the way we think and in the way we react. The financial crisis, besides all the sufferings, seems to have triggered something positive in our society, something that we all needed: simplicity and solidarity.

There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity that we had forgotten in our thirst for intricate solutions.

Yes, I am sure that this financial crisis is changing our personal behavior and this change may very well change our whole society. In these difficult times, full of uncertainties, disillusionment and worries, we have the opportunity to come closer to one another , to show solidarity – a word long forgotten – to empower “us” as opposed to “I” and to say NO to social isolation – nobody alone any more, nobody helpless anymore!

We have started investing in our relationships with our family and our fellow human beings, proving that the uncertainty, the fear and our common agony for the future during these confusing times can be faced with a smile, a helping hand, a warm dish of food to those in need.

We build deep and loving relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinners, home evenings and by just having fun together. In all relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities.

And from these manifestations of human solidarity, let’s try and win back our emotional wealth which was absent from our lives these past years : emotionally wealthy societies always remain rich regardless of the difficulties and never ever go bankrupt!

No man is an island entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. (John Donne)

As you set out for Ithaki...

Odysseus, the legendary king of Ithaki took 10 years to return home after the fall of Troy.

He helped to win a war, he encountered many mythical creatures, he fought against terrifying monsters, he talked to the mighty gods and he became one of the greatest heroes ever. But all he ever wanted - was to go home.

This is a story of the course of man towards his roots and his own existence in this perpetual adventure of life and the immense struggle for survival.

Nearly 3000 years later, the remains of his home have been found, proving that Homer’s epic, this fabulous tale of persistence, courage and bravery is rooted in truth!

A team of archaeologists from the University of Ioannina found the remains of an extensive three storey building, with steps carved out of rock, fragments of pottery and a well from the 8^th century BC, the period Odysseus is believed to have been king of Ithaki.

So many unanswered questions: was Homer, the blind poet of Chios, a real person? Was Odysseus, the brave king of Ithaki, a real person? There is a lot of debate on both subjects, scholars disagree, but since there is no reliable biographical information, all theories stand. Let’s not forget that Troy was thought to be a fictional place but it came to be recognized as a real place through Schliemann's archaeological endeavors.

Both the Iliad and the Odyssey are two of my favorites to read and re-read, so I like to think that Homer was a real poet and that Odysseus was a real person.

Maybe the future will do justice to my beliefs….