A New Era Approaches

Hey Wulf Cubs,

I don’t know about how you all feel out there, but to me, it seems like we are approaching a turning point for humanity where we put to rest some of our old traditions and habits and begin to create something entirely new once more.

I’ve recently read a book called The Fourth Turning which predicts this collapse and regeneration as a cyclical event that happens throughout history in humanity. Essentially, it claims that every 4 or 5 generations, or about 80 years, cultures face inflection points; hard times breed strong people, strong people create good times, good times create weak people, and weak people create hard times – this is essentially the gist of it. And considering it was written in ’96, it is somewhat prophetic.

If this is true, and according to historical evidence, it seems to have some probability of being valid – then what does this say about nature, free will, and determinism? How much free will do we really have when we are so shaped by our societies and our societies are shaped by the currents of their histories? Is there any point in resisting the tides of humanity or is it for the best that we simply accept our fate and flow with life willingly? Perhaps steering it gently in one direction or the other.

Personally, I’ve started to accept the fact that we might have a lot less free will and autonomy over our lives than we might otherwise like to believe. And some of the ancient philosophers such as Buddha or the Stoics used to preach that living the good life involved the radical acceptance of whatever comes our way. In other words, we can not control the external aspects of our lives, such as the decisions made by other people, but we can control how we react to it all. So the argument is that we ought to focus our energies there.

I, for one, find this idea liberating and relieving. Why struggle so much to control what we cannot when we could simply focus on the aspects that are within our control, and stop leaving our happiness up to those things that we cannot?

Inside of each one of us, we all have what we need to be happy in this life. It’s simply a matter of perspective, gratitude, and belief. Life challenges all of us, and it isn’t always pleasant. But in the big picture, perhaps these challenges serve a purpose? How are they molding the person that we are becoming? And if we don’t like that person, then how can we adapt to, rather than resent, the events in our lives that we are faced with?

Much love to you all.

Sincerely, The Wolf Boy