Oh how I love words, and I recently learned a new word, Protopia. It is a word coined not many years back by a man named Kevin Kelly, a co-founder of Wired magazine. This word relates to a way of being in human society that comes from small thoughtful steps that really help to best anchor better ways of being. Yet from what I understand, it does not denote perfection across the board but is steeped in energies of optimism, hope and trust that as humans we can make the changes needed that benefit all of us.
This concept of Protopia seems to me to be a perfect example of Aristotle’s concept of the Golden Mean, that balance in life of moderation and thoughtful ways. In relation to Protopia, the scales of the balance would achieve that Golden Mean as much as possible.
But if we tip the scales too far in one direction, we may have the aspect of Utopia, a world where everything is perfectly in place, utter perfection. This is what we call the realm of Heaven, one that is really not meant to be in place for humans in this earthly realm.
Now tip the scales in the extreme of the other direction and we have Dystopia, a world of utter chaos. This is the favorite world of our drama spinning, all hope is lost ego, whirling about in endless circles that are the worst of human behaviors. One might call this Hell on earth.
Of course my idealistic, optimistic, rose colored glasses self really likes this idea of Protopia, what a great concept and all that it can create! But my impulsive impatient side says oh, this might take too long. Yet better ways of being don’t happen overnight, if we are truly striving to make these ways of being become second nature. “Patience attains all it strives for”, words from a passage by St. Teresa of Avila.
Is this the perfect solution to all of society’s current ills? Not sure that I want to hand it all over to Protopia but it sure sounds better than Dystopia or even Utopia and maybe we should give it a try.
Words From the Moon 
Leave a comment