Why the only future worth building includes everyone
-
0:00 - 0:03[His Holiness Pope Francis
Filmed in Vatican City -
0:03 - 0:04First shown at TED2017]
-
0:05 - 0:11Good evening – or, good morning,
I am not sure what time it is there. -
0:13 - 0:19Regardless of the hour, I am thrilled
to be participating in your conference. -
0:21 - 0:24I very much like its title
– "The Future You" – -
0:26 - 0:32because, while looking at tomorrow,
it invites us to open a dialogue today, -
0:34 - 0:38to look at the future through a "you."
-
0:39 - 0:41"The Future You:"
-
0:42 - 0:49the future is made of yous,
it is made of encounters, -
0:50 - 0:52because life flows
through our relations with others. -
0:54 - 0:56Quite a few years of life
-
0:56 - 1:00have strengthened my conviction
-
1:00 - 1:07that each and everyone's existence
is deeply tied to that of others: -
1:08 - 1:14life is not time merely passing by,
life is about interactions. -
1:16 - 1:21As I meet, or lend an ear
to those who are sick, -
1:22 - 1:26to the migrants
who face terrible hardships -
1:26 - 1:28in search of a brighter future,
-
1:29 - 1:33to prison inmates who carry
a hell of pain inside their hearts, -
1:34 - 1:38and to those, many of them young,
who cannot find a job, -
1:39 - 1:42I often find myself wondering:
-
1:43 - 1:47"Why them and not me?"
-
1:49 - 1:53I, myself, was born
in a family of migrants; -
1:55 - 2:00my father, my grandparents,
like many other Italians, -
2:00 - 2:02left for Argentina
-
2:02 - 2:07and met the fate of those
who are left with nothing. -
2:08 - 2:12I could have very well ended up
among today's "discarded" people. -
2:14 - 2:19And that's why I always ask myself,
deep in my heart: -
2:19 - 2:22"Why them and not me?"
-
2:24 - 2:29First and foremost, I would love it
if this meeting could help to remind us -
2:29 - 2:33that we all need each other,
-
2:33 - 2:36none of us is an island,
-
2:37 - 2:40an autonomous and independent "I,"
separated from the other, -
2:42 - 2:48and we can only build the future
by standing together, including everyone. -
2:50 - 2:56We don’t think about it often,
but everything is connected, -
2:56 - 3:01and we need to restore
our connections to a healthy state. -
3:02 - 3:05Even the harsh judgment I hold in my heart
-
3:05 - 3:08against my brother or my sister,
-
3:08 - 3:12the open wound that was never cured,
the offense that was never forgiven, -
3:12 - 3:15the rancor that is only going to hurt me,
-
3:15 - 3:18are all instances of a fight
that I carry within me, -
3:18 - 3:21a flare deep in my heart
that needs to be extinguished -
3:21 - 3:26before it goes up in flames,
leaving only ashes behind. -
3:27 - 3:30Many of us, nowadays,
-
3:30 - 3:34seem to believe that a happy future
is something impossible to achieve. -
3:36 - 3:38While such concerns
must be taken very seriously, -
3:39 - 3:41they are not invincible.
-
3:43 - 3:49They can be overcome when we don't lock
our door to the outside world. -
3:50 - 3:53Happiness can only be discovered
-
3:53 - 3:57as a gift of harmony between the whole
and each single component. -
3:59 - 4:02Even science – and you know it
better than I do – -
4:03 - 4:08points to an understanding of reality
-
4:08 - 4:15as a place where every element connects
and interacts with everything else. -
4:17 - 4:21And this brings me to my second message.
-
4:23 - 4:25How wonderful would it be
-
4:26 - 4:31if the growth of scientific
and technological innovation -
4:32 - 4:38would come along with more equality
and social inclusion. -
4:39 - 4:44How wonderful would it be,
while we discover faraway planets, -
4:45 - 4:51to rediscover the needs of the brothers
and sisters orbiting around us. -
4:52 - 4:55How wonderful would it be if solidarity,
-
4:56 - 4:59this beautiful and, at times,
inconvenient word, -
5:00 - 5:04were not simply reduced to social work,
-
5:04 - 5:08and became, instead, the default attitude
-
5:08 - 5:12in political, economic
and scientific choices, -
5:13 - 5:19as well as in the relationships
among individuals, peoples and countries. -
5:19 - 5:23Only by educating people
to a true solidarity -
5:23 - 5:27will we be able to overcome
-
5:27 - 5:30the "culture of waste,"
-
5:32 - 5:35which doesn't concern only food and goods
-
5:37 - 5:40but, first and foremost, the people
-
5:40 - 5:45who are cast aside
by our techno-economic systems -
5:46 - 5:49which, without even realizing it,
-
5:50 - 5:56are now putting products
at their core, instead of people. -
5:57 - 6:04Solidarity is a term that many wish
to erase from the dictionary. -
6:05 - 6:10Solidarity, however,
is not an automatic mechanism. -
6:10 - 6:13It cannot be programmed or controlled.
-
6:14 - 6:18It is a free response born
from the heart of each and everyone. -
6:19 - 6:21Yes, a free response!
-
6:22 - 6:23When one realizes
-
6:23 - 6:28that life, even in the middle
of so many contradictions, is a gift, -
6:28 - 6:32that love is the source
and the meaning of life, -
6:33 - 6:38how can they withhold their urge
to do good to another fellow being? -
6:39 - 6:41In order to do good,
-
6:41 - 6:46we need memory, we need courage
and we need creativity. -
6:48 - 6:55And I know that TED
gathers many creative minds. -
6:57 - 7:03Yes, love does require
a creative, concrete -
7:04 - 7:06and ingenious attitude.
-
7:08 - 7:13Good intentions and conventional formulas,
-
7:13 - 7:18so often used to appease
our conscience, are not enough. -
7:19 - 7:22Let us help each other,
all together, to remember -
7:23 - 7:27that the other is not
a statistic or a number. -
7:28 - 7:30The other has a face.
-
7:30 - 7:35The "you" is always a real presence,
-
7:35 - 7:38a person to take care of.
-
7:41 - 7:47There is a parable Jesus told
to help us understand the difference -
7:47 - 7:54between those who'd rather not be bothered
and those who take care of the other. -
7:55 - 8:00I am sure you have heard it before.
It is the Parable of the Good Samaritan. -
8:02 - 8:06When Jesus was asked:
"Who is my neighbor?" - -
8:06 - 8:10namely, "Who should I take care of?" -
-
8:11 - 8:15he told this story, the story of a man
-
8:15 - 8:21who had been assaulted, robbed,
beaten and abandoned along a dirt road. -
8:22 - 8:28Upon seeing him, a priest and a Levite,
two very influential people of the time, -
8:29 - 8:33walked past him without stopping to help.
-
8:34 - 8:40After a while, a Samaritan, a very much
despised ethnicity at the time, walked by. -
8:41 - 8:46Seeing the injured man
lying on the ground, -
8:46 - 8:51he did not ignore him
as if he weren't even there. -
8:52 - 8:55Instead, he felt compassion for this man,
-
8:56 - 9:03which compelled him to act
in a very concrete manner. -
9:04 - 9:08He poured oil and wine
on the wounds of the helpless man, -
9:09 - 9:11brought him to a hostel
-
9:11 - 9:14and paid out of his pocket
for him to be assisted. -
9:16 - 9:20The story of the Good Samaritan
is the story of today’s humanity. -
9:21 - 9:26People's paths are riddled with suffering,
-
9:26 - 9:32as everything is centered around money,
and things, instead of people. -
9:33 - 9:39And often there is this habit, by people
who call themselves "respectable," -
9:39 - 9:41of not taking care of the others,
-
9:42 - 9:49thus leaving behind thousands
of human beings, or entire populations, -
9:49 - 9:51on the side of the road.
-
9:54 - 9:58Fortunately, there are also those
who are creating a new world -
9:58 - 10:04by taking care of the other,
even out of their own pockets. -
10:04 - 10:08Mother Teresa actually said:
-
10:08 - 10:13"One cannot love,
unless it is at their own expense." -
10:15 - 10:19We have so much to do,
and we must do it together. -
10:21 - 10:26But how can we do that
with all the evil we breathe every day? -
10:27 - 10:28Thank God,
-
10:28 - 10:33no system can nullify our desire
to open up to the good, -
10:33 - 10:37to compassion and to our capacity
to react against evil, -
10:37 - 10:39all of which stem
from deep within our hearts. -
10:39 - 10:41Now you might tell me,
-
10:41 - 10:42"Sure, these are beautiful words,
-
10:42 - 10:47but I am not the Good Samaritan,
nor Mother Teresa of Calcutta." -
10:48 - 10:52On the contrary: we are precious,
each and every one of us. -
10:53 - 10:57Each and every one of us
is irreplaceable in the eyes of God. -
10:59 - 11:03Through the darkness of today's conflicts,
-
11:03 - 11:08each and every one of us
can become a bright candle, -
11:08 - 11:12a reminder that light
will overcome darkness, -
11:13 - 11:15and never the other way around.
-
11:17 - 11:21To Christians,
the future does have a name, -
11:22 - 11:24and its name is Hope.
-
11:25 - 11:30Feeling hopeful does not mean
to be optimistically naïve -
11:31 - 11:37and ignore the tragedy humanity is facing.
-
11:38 - 11:41Hope is the virtue of a heart
-
11:41 - 11:46that doesn't lock itself into darkness,
that doesn't dwell on the past, -
11:46 - 11:51does not simply get by in the present,
but is able to see a tomorrow. -
11:52 - 11:55Hope is the door
that opens onto the future. -
11:55 - 12:00Hope is a humble, hidden seed of life
-
12:00 - 12:05that, with time,
will develop into a large tree. -
12:06 - 12:11It is like some invisible yeast
that allows the whole dough to grow, -
12:12 - 12:14that brings flavor to all aspects of life.
-
12:15 - 12:17And it can do so much,
-
12:18 - 12:25because a tiny flicker of light
that feeds on hope -
12:26 - 12:29is enough to shatter
the shield of darkness. -
12:31 - 12:35A single individual
is enough for hope to exist, -
12:35 - 12:39and that individual can be you.
-
12:40 - 12:45And then there will be another "you,"
and another "you," -
12:46 - 12:49and it turns into an "us."
-
12:49 - 12:53And so, does hope begin
when we have an "us?" -
12:54 - 12:55No.
-
12:55 - 12:56Hope began with one "you."
-
12:58 - 13:02When there is an "us,"
there begins a revolution. -
13:05 - 13:09The third message
I would like to share today -
13:09 - 13:14is, indeed, about revolution:
the revolution of tenderness. -
13:15 - 13:17And what is tenderness?
-
13:18 - 13:21It is the love that comes close
and becomes real. -
13:21 - 13:23It is a movement
that starts from our heart -
13:23 - 13:27and reaches the eyes,
the ears and the hands. -
13:28 - 13:32Tenderness means to use
our eyes to see the other, -
13:33 - 13:35our ears to hear the other,
-
13:35 - 13:42to listen to the children, the poor,
those who are afraid of the future. -
13:42 - 13:47To listen also to the silent cry
of our common home, -
13:47 - 13:50of our sick and polluted earth.
-
13:51 - 13:56Tenderness means to use
our hands and our heart -
13:56 - 13:59to comfort the other,
-
13:59 - 14:01to take care of those in need.
-
14:03 - 14:07Tenderness is the language
of the young children, -
14:08 - 14:11of those who need the other.
-
14:12 - 14:17A child’s love for mom and dad
-
14:17 - 14:23grows through their touch, their gaze,
their voice, their tenderness. -
14:25 - 14:27I like when I hear parents
-
14:27 - 14:32talk to their babies,
adapting to the little child, -
14:33 - 14:40sharing the same level of communication.
-
14:41 - 14:47This is tenderness:
being on the same level as the other. -
14:48 - 14:55God himself descended into Jesus
to be on our level. -
14:56 - 14:58This is the same path
the Good Samaritan took. -
14:59 - 15:02This is the path that Jesus himself took.
-
15:03 - 15:04He lowered himself,
-
15:05 - 15:07he lived his entire human existence
-
15:07 - 15:10practicing the real,
concrete language of love. -
15:12 - 15:16Yes, tenderness is the path of choice
-
15:16 - 15:21for the strongest,
most courageous men and women. -
15:23 - 15:26Tenderness is not weakness;
it is fortitude. -
15:27 - 15:31It is the path of solidarity,
the path of humility. -
15:33 - 15:35Please, allow me to say it loud and clear:
-
15:36 - 15:39the more powerful you are,
-
15:39 - 15:43the more your actions
will have an impact on people, -
15:43 - 15:46the more responsible you are
to act humbly. -
15:48 - 15:55If you don’t, your power will ruin you,
and you will ruin the other. -
15:58 - 16:00There is a saying in Argentina:
-
16:00 - 16:05"Power is like drinking gin
on an empty stomach." -
16:08 - 16:14You feel dizzy, you get drunk,
you lose your balance, -
16:15 - 16:19and you will end up hurting yourself
and those around you, -
16:20 - 16:24if you don’t connect your power
with humility and tenderness. -
16:28 - 16:32Through humility and concrete love,
on the other hand, -
16:32 - 16:39power – the highest, the strongest one –
becomes a service, a force for good. -
16:42 - 16:47The future of humankind isn't exclusively
in the hands of politicians, -
16:47 - 16:51of great leaders, of big companies.
-
16:51 - 16:54Yes, they do hold
an enormous responsibility. -
16:54 - 16:59But the future is, most of all,
in the hands of those people -
16:59 - 17:03who recognize the other as a "you"
-
17:03 - 17:06and themselves as part of an "us."
-
17:08 - 17:10We all need each other.
-
17:11 - 17:16And so, please, think of me
as well with tenderness, -
17:16 - 17:20so that I can fulfill the task
I have been given -
17:20 - 17:22for the good of the other,
-
17:22 - 17:25of each and every one, of all of you,
-
17:26 - 17:27of all of us.
-
17:28 - 17:30Thank you.
- Title:
- Why the only future worth building includes everyone
- Description:
-
A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you, says His Holiness Pope Francis in this searing TED Talk delivered directly from Vatican City. In a hopeful message to people of all faiths, to those who have power as well as those who don't, the spiritual leader provides illuminating commentary on the world as we currently find it and calls for equality, solidarity and tenderness to prevail. "Let us help each other, all together, to remember that the 'other' is not a statistic, or a number," he says. "We all need each other."
- Video Language:
- Italian
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 17:28
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for TED2017 Surprise Speaker | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for TED2017 Surprise Speaker | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for TED2017 Surprise Speaker | ||
Helene Batt edited English subtitles for TED2017 Surprise Speaker | ||
Helene Batt edited English subtitles for TED2017 Surprise Speaker | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for TED2017 Surprise Speaker | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for TED2017 Surprise Speaker | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for TED2017 Surprise Speaker |
Yasushi Aoki
remainder -> reminder
Helene Batt
Fixed, thank you!