Our lives are not defined by the physical, material
things that surround us, but by the way that they are lived and intertwined
with others and with nature. It’s not
that austerity and a total absence of material things, apart from those
essential for basic physical survival, is the right way, but that the
attachment of meaning to objects fades as the focus shifts to others, and it is
how these objects allow us to better interact, communicate thoughts and
feelings, and learn and help to make life and lives better, and the world a
better place.
If applied with humanity and wisdom, our experience
and understanding of reality, shared with others and built up over millennia,
can let us extend our capabilities and fully express what evolution has
fashioned us for. Through the
continually evolving technologies that shape and facilitate our interactions
with the world and with others, our imaginations can be harnessed and focussed
both on personal and societal growth and
on finding suitable responses to the issues that science, culture, art and
engineering unveil.


