Yuval Noah Harari, in a recent lecture to a group of young people in London about the goals of education for the 21st century, made this observation:
“To stay relevant, you will have to reinvent yourself, not just once, but repeatedly, every 10 years, 15 years, to reinvent yourself and the main obstacle for doing that might well be psychological more than economical or technological. Its just very very hard to reinvent yourself especially after a certain age. So the most important goals of education in the 21st century are probably to develop your emotional intelligence and your mental balance because you will need a lot of mental balance and mental resilience to deal with a very hectic world, to keep learning throughout your life, and to repeatedly reinvent yourself”
This is sobering. If emotional stability and mental resilience are essential skills to reinventing ourselves, then developing a meditation practice is an investment for the future. The reason I make this bold statement is based on the impact meditation has had on my emotional stability. The clouds of emotion still arise, bringing rain and thunder and lightning. But the storms don’t last as long and the sun comes out sooner to dry me off and send me on my way.