Truth and Reconciliation as art and design principle

(Truth and reconciliation- 

when the saffron moon rises: 

the unbearable lightness of history-4

(rested metal, nails)

As children, we all had moments where we couldn't control our temperaments, where things fell from our hands and broke, and where we lacked the empathy and cognitive skill sets to handle our temptations. These were not intentional acts, but rather the result of being in uncontrolled or beyond-control situations as children. We knew that something had gone wrong and that there would be repercussions for our actions, but we were more worried about the responses of our loved ones than about what had gone wrong.

In those moments, we often tried to become solution finders, concealing or covering up the damage with stories of our wild imaginations. This was not an attempt to lie, but rather to find solutions to save a broken system with minimal damage. For many of us, this was the beginning of our journey of design thinking and solution-finding. Some were better at storytelling than others, but the intent was the same: to find a way to move on from the situation with minimal harm.

However, for some of us, this ability to tell covering-up stories did not come easily. We were confused about the difference between a lie and a good narrative. We grew up feeling less privileged with our narrative skill sets, while others got away with wonderful narratives. This experience taught us that the genesis of men as solution finders starts with this ability of ours to tell covering-up stories, where the result may be a minor punishment for letting go of things to move on in life or accepting reality by the design of forgiving.

We often strive for perfection, success, and smooth functioning in life and its systems, but these are the actual breakdowns. The flaws, failures, accidents, and vulnerabilities in any system are not the problems, but rather the actual systems. Our efforts to make systems robust as a utopia of perfection is the biggest design failure that we commit as solution-finders. In conflict, reconciliation is the only solution. Let us accept this empirical fact about solution-finding with humility. The ideal conditions are the actual pain points in any system, and most of the time, letting go to move on in life is the actual solution.

An innocent narrative, where the accused and accuser understand what had happened while enjoying the storytelling, often is the actual design thinking or problem-solving. The biggest pain point in any system- death- teaches us this philosophy. We cannot evade the eventual death of any system. Embracing it with grace is more pragmatic.

The things that are important in life, matter to us the most or are relevant to us, are only the narratives we weave around realities to embrace them with grace. If we can accept this fundamental nature of solution finding, something that we have practised in our childhood- the idea of letting go and weaving narratives for reconciliation, we will have fewer complications in our life and fewer complexities in our systems.

To be a solution-finder, one needs to switch sides. One has to leave the search for a utopian, idealist, and perfect world by accepting the system of imperfections and failures, to move on in life. With this design solution, one may be able to find a wave of lasting peace in life by discovering the simple world with lesser complications, where everyone will learn to accept mistakes, damages, and breakdowns much more gracefully. Reconciliation is the biggest design-thinking tool that mankind has ever produced. Apply it for peace and move on in life.

In the end, truth and reconciliation are essential to finding peace and moving on from the pain points of any system. When the saffron moon rises, it reminds us of the unbearable lightness of history, but also of the possibility of forgiveness and grace. We must rest our metal and nails, let go of our search for perfection, and embrace the imperfections and failures of life

(Truth and reconciliation-

when the saffron moon rises:

the unbearable lightness of history-4

(rested metal, nails)