Sunday, June 26, 2022

Poblems With An Empty Heart

 

Anna Karenina' is the title of a novel that is regarded as one of Tolstoy's most representative works. In the Catholic Times' column Nation-Reconciliation-Unification the writer gives us his thoughts on what we learn from Anna Karenina.

 
She is the protagonist of the novel, had all the conditions for her happiness present and seemed to be enviable, throws herself into an oncoming train and ends her life.
 
The reason was the 'emptiness' in her heart. This sentence appears at the beginning of the novel. "All happy families are happy for similar reasons, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
 
What this means is that in order for a marriage to be happy, it must have the right elements present: personality, learning, religion, economic power, etc. If you look at this, you can see that it is really difficult to maintain a happy married life with only the love that was present during the romance stage. That's why a   lot of effort has to be expended by the couple.
 
If you think about it, it seems that this rule is not limited to an individual or family. Applicable to countries as well. In order for the people of a country to be happy and the dignity of the country elevated, only one factor will not do it. Economic prosperity is not sufficient, political stability, security, and respect for each other must be added. We can see from history that a country that does not have these elements will have serious problems.
 
However, while watching  the movie Anna Karenina, he thought that one of the elements that a nation must have to be happy and and can be ignored is the heart for 'reconciliation' and 'peace'.
 
If there is an idea that has been entrenched in our people for a long time, was a quote from a General during the Spring and Autumn Warring States period of Chinese history. "Even if a country is strong, if it loves war, it will surely perish, and even if the world is peaceful, if it forgets war, it will always be in danger."
 
As a country that is heavily influenced by outsiders like Korea, there is no choice but to continuously prepare for security. However, we must never forget that the reason and purpose of this security is the establishment of 'reconciliation' and 'peace'. 
 
As you can see from the 'emptiness' in Anna Karenina’s heart, what humans who want happiness can easily forget is the heart that seeks 'reconciliation' and 'peace'.