Walking through life, we continue to play the Chasing Game as we did when we were children. With passion, one would run ahead, and another would follow, laughing and having fun, loving and being happy. However, as we grew up, we turned the game into a burden; we forgot to have fun, forgot to love, forgot to mature! We kept chasing knowledge, chasing work, chase after everything the eyes see! Yet, we stopped chasing love, love for knowledge, love for work, love for what the eyes cannot see!
Apostle Paul, in 1st Corinthians 13
ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος· ὅτε γέγονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου. [13.12] βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι᾽ ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον· ἄρτι γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους, τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην. [13.13] νυνὶ δὲ μένει πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη, τὰ τρία ταῦτα· μείζων δὲ τούτων ἡ ἀγάπη.
[eng] (1)When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. [13:12] For now, we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. [13:13] And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
(Translation by Yiota Kritseli, editor)
"Deception" oil painting, artist Maria Langaditi
We have been deceived by false values, and instead of looking inside, we began searching outside!
We were led astray by what our eyes saw and we forgot what our heart sees!
But no matter how much you chase, in the end, you remain empty and void.
You lie in bed and contemplate what is missing...
And what you have is not enough for what you think you need, and what you learn is not sufficient to know!
Plato, Apology of Socrate
[21d] ἐντεῦθεν οὖν τούτῳ τε ἀπηχθόμην καὶ πολλοῖς τῶν παρόντων· πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν δ᾽ οὖν ἀπιὼν ἐλογιζόμην ὅτι τούτου μὲν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐγὼ σοφώτερός εἰμι· κινδυνεύει μὲν γὰρ ἡμῶν οὐδέτερος οὐδὲν καλὸν κἀγαθὸν εἰδέναι, *ἀλλ᾽ οὗτος μὲν οἴεταί τι εἰδέναι οὐκ εἰδώς, ἐγὼ δέ, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐκ οἶδα, οὐδὲ οἴομαι· ἔοικα γοῦν τούτου γε σμικρῷ τινι αὐτῷ τούτῳ σοφώτερος εἶναι, ὅτι ἃ μὴ οἶδα οὐδὲ οἴομαι εἰδέναι. ἐντεῦθεν ἐπ᾽ ἄλλον ᾖα τῶν ἐκείνου δοκούντων σοφωτέρων εἶναι καί [21e] μοι ταὐτὰ ταῦτα ἔδοξε, καὶ ἐνταῦθα κἀκείνῳ καὶ ἄλλοις πολλοῖς ἀπηχθόμην...
*"Neither of us hardly knows anything beautiful or good; he believed he knew something without truly understanding it, while I, in my lack of knowledge, neither believe nor claim to know."
Modern Greek: ένα ξέρω ότι δεν ξέρω τίποτα
[eng] I know one thing: that I know nothing
Do we truly know what values are?
So, do you want to know what your values are?
All you need to do is answer one question... What do you prioritize over money?
Our values are what constitute our principles, and our principles (according to dictionaries) are what form the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of thoughts!
This means that your entire conscious and unconscious self is influenced!
Actually, did we forget something else from this game we used to play when we were little... that it was just a game!
Meaning of the word game
an object intended for entertainment or amusement and not for practical use
someone or something that allows itself to be entirely guided by another or others, without having its own will.
(1) In this paragraph, the words "child" and "man" denote periods of history as perceived by the Christian worldview. The "childhood" period of humanity aligns with the time before the coming of Christ and is characterized by fragmented and incomplete human knowledge ("for we know in part," "we see in a mirror, dimly"). The "manhood" period aligns with the era inaugurated by the incarnation of Christ, culminating in the Second Coming and the arrival of God's future kingdom. This period is characterized by complete knowledge ("we shall know just as I also am known").
Text: Maria Langaditi
Text editing: Ada Kiriazi
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