“You are incorrigible romantics-idealists” — such a remark the older generation hears today from the young. It seems to whom, if not for them, young people, to experience bright dreams, bright hopes, anticipation of a flight? And people with experience, on the contrary, are supposed to gradually become disillusioned and slowly descend to the sinful earth …
But no: idealism in our pragmatic age has greatly lost in value and is not quoted — it is too impractical and naive to be an idealist. Some people even think it’s harmful. In my opinion, this is a big misconception.
Personally, I have never renounced what I was and, to a certain extent, remain an idealist. Idealism is necessary for a person at any age, as a certain isolation from reality, an elevation above it.
This is a special state: and the review is better, and the soul is easier. Ideals indicate the vector of development, help to overcome the gravity of the earth, to gain meaning.
To be an idealist means to think better of man and mankind. Then everyone has a chance to become better. The most realistic thing is not just to accept the world as it is, but to see it as it should become. Then he will be. Following Goethe, Viktor Frankl, the famous seeker of life’s meanings, did not tire of repeating this all his life.
But being an idealist at the same time does not mean idealizing the world around you. The idealization of life is a conscious or involuntary aberration of vision. It is this self-deception that underlies many wrong and negative reactions to the world.
Idealization is understood as the only idea of a life structure that is significant for a person, if it is violated, negative experiences appear that arise due to a mismatch between the mental image and reality. The result is conflict with the world.
Everyone has their own ideas about how the world should be. However, the world cannot “adjust” to the requirements of all
To avoid it, you just need to allow this world to be multifaceted, diverse, changing and imperfect. After all, the imperfection of the world, people and events is only a set of assessments. The world is real and does not depend on judgments about it.
For a more harmonious existence, it is necessary first of all to recognize the world around us as it is now, and only then try to make it the way we want to see it. One must see the real clearly, but retain the imagination.
This does not mean that moral rules and ethical standards should be abandoned. But they apply primarily to themselves. And should include greater loyalty and tolerance for the world. As a rule, it is not ideas and ideals that are wrong, but the attitude towards them.
Each person has their own ideas about how the world should be properly organized. However, the world cannot “adjust” to the demands of everyone. These requirements are often mutually exclusive. Even in one family, views on life, methods of raising children are diametrically opposed. You can love to fly, but not try to teach the whole world to fly in reality.
Therefore, it is useless to try to squeeze life into the framework of your ideas about it. It is necessary to negotiate with others and remember more often that specific human experiences, health and current relationships are more important than an ideal vision of the world. It must be remembered that we usually have little chance of truly, let alone totally, changing objective reality. But there are many chances to make your own life more joyful.