REBUILDING THE FUTURE: Burning Ships to Embrace New Beginnings?
Nov 11, 2024
Every religion has its apocalypse. But we often forget: the apocalypse isn’t the end. It’s a ‘revelation.’ Literally, the moment when truth is unveiled—a transition toward renewal.
A transition that may be dramatic, certainly. Leaving the world devastated and forcing us to move through stages of grief. But it’s also a process of rebirth, opening the door to a new future.
It’s the moment when the die is cast. When power dynamics become clear. When the crises that have been building either worsen or unravel—provided we are willing to let part of ourselves die.
Sometimes, this involves accepting loss. Other times, it requires radical decisions: burning bridges and pivoting toward an entirely new future.
In April 1519, driven by the foolish vision to conquer an Aztec empire of millions, Hernán Cortés lands in the Yucatán with fewer than a thousand soldiers. To ensure their determination and prevent any thought of retreat, he burns his three ships.
Imagine: a few hundred men on the shore, equipped with only a handful of horses and cannons, at the edge of an unknown jungle. Before them, hostile territories teeming with millions of warriors—rich with treasures but rife with unknown dangers. Behind them, their fragile caravels, the only link to the safety of their homeland, consumed by flames, cutting off any escape. These men, against all odds, will go on to conquer a vast empire. But they could just as easily have vanished without a trace in the depths of Mexico’s jungles.
When it comes to the future, we are like those men—standing before immense opportunities and equally immense, unknown dangers. Armed only with our hopes and our will to prevail.
To embrace the future, must we also sometimes burn our ships?
Worsening conflicts, financial collapse, institutional and societal decay: the dangers we face in the coming years are manifold. The polycrisis we’re experiencing today is merely the prelude to a broader, global transition that’s only just begun. We stand at the edge of the jungle, hearing the distant rustle of barbarian armies and the cries of strange creatures under the canopy, even as the gold of untold riches glimmers atop unknown pyramids in the distance.
Today again, we are approaching a tipping point. The moment when the geopolitical chessboard becomes unmistakably clear. When the crises that have accumulated over the past 15 years will either deepen or resolve.
Just like in past crises.
Between 1929 and 1949, those who would have fallen asleep in 1928 and wake up in 1950 would have found themselves in an entirely different world: new empires, new technologies, new institutions.
What will it be for us?
Will we manage to avoid the specter of global war, which has been brewing for years? The collapse of the financial system? The rise of techno-dictatorships that would make Orwell’s 1984 seem like a fairy tale? Or will we find ways to ease tensions and embark on a new cycle of peaceful growth?
History is chaotic. Nothing is guaranteed.
Yet one thing seems likely: regardless of what happens, we are headed for a period of renewal in the long term. Increased lifespans, new economic opportunities, collective intelligence—many promises lie beyond these turbulent times. As we highlighted in "META HUMANS - 5 Paths for Flourishing", many promises await beyond these transitional times.
This world, it’s up to us to be among those who will build it.ā€Ø
But to do so, we must be willing to dive into the icy waters of the unknown.
Let go of our certainties. Embrace the possibility of change. Look forward rather than backward.
And contribute to shaping the future we desire.
The future is a risk to be seized.
In the years ahead, it will be up to us to seize it.
