The place we have here
The place we have here
Many thinkers and philosophers have described what would be an ideal society. Plato did this in “The Republic”, in the 4th century BC, and others tried to implement this idea, like pharaoh Akhenaten who established the concept of monotheism in the 12th century BC and built the city of Akhetaton. The English writer Thomas More became inspired to write about what the ideal society meant to him, calling it “Utopia”, also the title of his book published in 1516. But what would be an ideal society?
As the name itself indicates, it’s that which expresses an idea. Despite the differences between propositions and attempts for an ideal society made so far, those who proposed them had something in common: the vision of a better world.
When Dr. Celso Charuri, conceiver and founder of PRÓ-VIDA, proposed the ideal of a Much Better World, he also showed the possibility of having a place where, through the union of friends and family, this idea could be strengthened within each one, so that, one day, it would gather enough energy to be spread to many people on the planet.
This place was built. In the beginning, it was a small farm in the city of Araçoiaba da Serra, in the state of São Paulo (Brazil), which soon became the PRÓ-VIDA Club in Araçoiaba. It was a dry and arid site, but, over time, it was transformed into a place of exuberant nature, as a metaphor for the possibility of people carrying out their own inner transformation. After all, is the environment a product of man? Also as a reflection of each one, society is evolving because what is a product of man, as man himself, is not perfect, but the idea that leads him is. And if the society expresses this idea, then it is an ideal society, even though it’s still evolving.
After Araçoiaba, other clubs were created by PRÓ-VIDA participants: Baradero and Mendoza in Argentina; in Brazil – Arataba and Vale do Paraíba (São Paulo), Araucárias (Paraná), Paraguaçu (Minas Gerais) and Chapada dos Guimarães (Mato Grosso); and Santa Cruz in Bolivia. There, numerous study, leisure, cultural and sports activities, among others, take place, enabling the getting together of people and practice of the knowledge, taught in the mental training and development program, aiming at the improvement of each one and, subsequently, of everyone.
“Utopia”, a term coined by Thomas More, comes from the Greek and means “no place”. Perhaps the author would be surprised today, to find out that a new world can exist right here, through the action of men of good will.
