Being is now; the significance of existence. We are born of this time, have no control over this fact or who our family are, or what others have done before us. We grow and learn from our surroundings and from the moment of birth we are free to choose our own path. This is essence; it is the who and what we are, this develops after we are born, depending on our life experiences and the choices that we make. It is driven by us and is our choices of how best to navigate the world.

 

Life in our world is a compilation of chance, disorder, success, failure: it has multiple and often unexpected twists and turns. Humans adapt and shape themselves according to these challenges.

 

Throughout the Twentieth Century we have lived with the concept of Existentialism. After two world wars, the onset of the Korean and later the Vietnam war, the existence and fear of life suddenly ending in an nuclear war all combined to lead to a challenge to authority. From the 1960’s onwards, there was a huge swing towards individualism, searching for truth and happiness, and living in the moment.

 

Now, in the twenty-first century, all too often our human interactions are hidden behind an electronic screen; isolating ourselves further, dehumanising others without registering their pained and confused expressions, they are only people in a story; sympathy for the victims is lost.