Dear friends,
Ozymandias is a sonnet written by the English romantic poet Shelley more than 200 years ago.
It's an example of the futility of pomp and circumstance,
The pointlessness of power-seeking,
And it has a timeless application.
This sonnet seems remarkably relevant to the current situation in which the world finds itself.
We can't help but notice the fragility of democratic institutions and the rise of powerful Ozymandias-like figures who seem to believe themselves above history's judgement.
In our contemporary world,
We needn't look far to see modern political leaders who feel themselves invincible.
And the phenomenon is not new.
This pattern remains remarkably consistent across cultures and centuries,
The powerful convincing themselves that their reign represents some omega point that they believe will endure just because they will it to be so.
Shelley issues what is still a timely caution about the false promise of earthly power.
I met a traveller from an antique land who said,
Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert.
Near them,
On the sand,
Half-sunk,
A shattered visage lies,
Whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive,
Stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear.
My name is Ozymandias,
King of Kings.
Look on my works,
Ye mighty,
And despair.
Nothing beside remains.
Round the decay of that colossal wreck,
Boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Time is the ultimate victor,
And there is something extraordinarily democratic about its judgement.
Given time,
The same forces that toppled the once intimidating statue of Ozymandias will eventually claim our own monuments.
Is there any joy for us in these considerations?
There is.
We can take comfort from knowing that even the most oppressive systems eventually face their end.
What appears all-powerful and permanent to one generation,
Becomes a history lesson and a simple tourist attraction to the next.
Ozymandias calls us to reflect on our own attitude to power and permanence.
When we stop mindfully and we ask ourselves what monuments are we building as we go through life?
What inscriptions are we carving?
Are we seeking to intimidate future generations with tales of our might?
Or are we working to leave behind something genuinely beneficial?
A kindly epitaph that will truly outlive the relentless march of time.
Namaste.
