The essential

Isidro Catela

The essential is invisible to the eyes. It is not only Saint-Exupèry and his universal Little Prince. It happens to us too, every day, in every logo, avatar or inspiring photo that circles the web. Have you noticed our background photo? Look at it again, and, as if finding Wally, try, search, scrutinize and contemplate. In addition to a bridge and people walking on it, we have in the background a hidden miracle of a coral reef.

Reason is also like this: wide, expanded towards the horizon, enormous as an ocean with its coral reefs. It happens to us, however, that we often place the blinders of scientism and we leave the greatness behind, flying low and looking in only one direction. We are not able to see everything that such a large vessel can contain.

Benedict XVI traces in his thought one of the key points of his teaching: the essential, which is a lot, sometimes seems too little to us. He writes, for example, that Jesus brought God to us (not peace, not justice, not the end of hunger and wars). He brought God to us, nothing more and nothing less, because from God, everything will be given us besides. What happens is that sometimes we feel like it is too little. So also our reason is much more than the small and narrow concept that we imagine it to be.

Where we give to others only knowledge, skills, technical capabilities and instruments, we give them too little. So, let’s start seeking more, even if the effort seems to be shortsighted at first. Just contemplate, search and find the coral reef, the meaning. Later there will be time for more, to remind you of the conditions of our Awards, to write art, mathematics, physics, or medicine. Let’s, in short, seek, as authentic hidden treasures, examples of expanded reason and solid hope in the midst of the fluid society that surrounds us.

Cover image of the Expanded Reason Awards website (1st edition).

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