"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
The Republic — Plato.
She eagerly awaited the next meeting with the group. What at first had seemed insane had, over the past seven days, triggered a marathon of thoughts and emotions within her.
Immediately after returning home from the unique training, she searched for her old scripts, neatly stored in a forgotten drawer at the bottom of the house. She quickly got dressed, grabbed a slice of bread, poured herself some yogurt into her favorite tall glass painted with lavender and marigolds, and hurried toward the cabinet where she had kept her professional literature for years. Slowly, she began pulling out and rearranging the scripts and books, carefully reading the long-forgotten titles. She rarely needed to go into that corner, yet she could not bring herself to throw anything away.
Each item carried enormous meaning for her. She patched together the torn pages of some items with tape.
The children often teased her about her attachment to simple sheets of paper:
"They'll start falling apart on their own, Mom," Marco would say.
"Let her keep them—if needed, we'll call a restorer soon," Viktor would laugh.
"Or a conservator," Zoja would add.
She would look at them with love and say nothing. She knew that no matter how hard she tried, she could never explain her passion for clinging to piles of papers whose contents were readily available online.
For a moment, she remembered similar situations with her own mother. Ida kept books and scripts; her mother kept clothes in a drawer under the bed in the bedroom. A few childhood dresses, sweaters with incorrectly stitched brand letters, a light green coat Ida had fought to have bought, which her mother disliked, and a pair of clogs bought at great expense during a family trip to West Germany in the seventies. Each item carried a story, just as each script or book contained a text, wisdom, or a message that once represented an "aha" moment.
This time, she was searching for Plato's Republic.
She opened the script and began flipping through the pages, looking for the seventh chapter. When she found it, she placed a bookmark and set it on the table, quickly returning the scattered scripts to the cabinet. She sat on the bed and started reading. A long analysis awaited her—a return to another sphere, long abandoned yet still so familiar. So devoted and responsible. She controlled everything. Knowing that well-planned time would bring her excellent results in every area.
A week passed in a flash. Without the disturbing messages from Alex, she was calm. One morning, she caught herself staring with surprise at his smiling face in the photograph near the TV. He seemed distant and unfamiliar, like a stranger. For a moment,t she wanted to remove the photo, but she immediately withdrew her hand.
"Let it stay as a reminder of a distant past," she said aloud and continued with her work.
Finally ready, she left the house and headed in the familiar direction.
She entered the room with joy. As she climbed the stairs, a fresh surprise awaited her. New messages had appeared on the walls, and she began reading them with the curiosity of a hungry student. This time, all of them were by one author—Carl Jung. Impressed by the staff's creativity, she enjoyed every new sentence. Right at the entrance, a warm welcome and thought-provoking themes greeted them.
"Man, who does not understand another person, considers that person a fool."
"Judgment does not liberate—it suffocates."
"I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to become."
"We may think we have full control over ourselves. Friends are those who tell us what we do not see."
"If you are a talented person, it does not mean you have received something. It means you can give something."
Warmth spread through her chest, lifting her mood almost instantly. Her mind sparked with clarity, and in that moment, she arrived at a quiet revelation about her own happiness. The feeling stirred by this surge of intellectual awakening was unmatched by any external pleasure. It surpassed fleeting victories of the ego, outshone even the heights of physical and sensual experience, and dulled the appeal of life's most exquisite indulgences.
Hungry for new intellectual challenges, she welcomed this new 'stimulus' with quiet excitement. It was as though a gray fog had finally lifted from her eyes. What had for years represented career progress now transformed into a beautiful source of happiness?
Smiling, she entered the room. Almost all participants had already arrived. She glanced at them—familiar faces, each marked by its own presence.
The pale-eyed woman again wore a short skirt, this time orange. The elegant one stood out with heavy gold earrings hanging unnaturally from her ears. Ida occasionally glanced in that direction, expecting at any moment something to "explode" into chaos in the room.
The sharp-featured woman had already arrived, sitting alone and deeply absorbed in an open book.
Only Veronica had not arrived yet. Ida kept glancing impatiently toward the door, waiting for her to appear.
And indeed, after a few minutes, the blonde curls appeared, along with an uncertain step and a beautiful smile that revealed all her teeth, even the upper gum. At first glance, the image seemed unusual, but her enthusiasm and presence pushed her imperfections into the background. She greeted everyone loudly, waved toward Ida, and quickly rushed to her, warmly hugging her. Ida watched her every move with disbelief, finding the closeness and openness unusual.
"I am so happy to see you. Last time, we didn't even say goodbye to each other properly. I looked for you, but you had already left.
"Yes, I had obligations," Ida replied briefly.
It was obvious Vesna wanted to continue the conversation, but while she was placing her jacket on the chair, her bag fell to the floor, and everything spilled out. She slowly began collecting makeup, lipsticks, tissues, small bottles, and disinfectant wipes.
At that moment, Petra entered the room. Ida sighed with relief. Excessive closeness made her nervous. She did not want unnecessary conversations that would disrupt her newly found harmony.
Petra immediately moved on to the essential topic left unresolved from the previous session:
"On the last session with Angela, I believe it was?" she said, looking toward the dark-haired, sharp-featured woman, who immediately nodded.
"We touched on Plato's Cave. I hope you are all prepared for today's session. The others can listen, and everything will become clearer."
She looked at them, satisfied with the anticipation she saw on their faces.
New generations might miss out on many philosophies, sociology, and history subjects. Today's education system has seen textbook publishers remove many significant names. The education system has reduced general education subjects to basic concepts without a deeper scientific or practical context. Today's session will not only be philosophy or sociology—we will also discuss practical applications in your daily lives.
Plato is a favorite reading for all those who search for truth. You would hardly remain indifferent to his wisdom if someone properly introduced and explained it. I believe today's session will reveal his genius, which I often mention with great pleasure. I will briefly explain my view on the topic."
She paused slightly, then continued:
"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
We all, in our own way, live in some form of ignorance. We cannot all be experts. Most people live their lives in ignorance, often not by their own fault. The comfort zone is a tempting place for existence without effort. More than two thousand years ago, it seems, human concerns were not so different from those of today. I am deeply fascinated by the realization that people have always searched for ideals. Even then, as now, they wrestled with the same enduring dilemmas.
Should education begin differently in early childhood? Which forms of knowledge deserve priority? What should one be focusing on: shaping pure, wise, compassionate, empathetic, humble human nature... I could continue listing, but these are only some of my reflections.
The story describes people who live inside a cave from birth. The scene is dark and unpleasant. They are in chains and unable to move, forced to see the world from a single angle. What they see is only their individual perception of reality. There is no time for alternative interpretations. Similarly, we all come from some "cave," shaped by different circumstances.
If an individual deviates, the group reacts immediately. This is how the so-called 'black sheep' appears.
If that black sheep tries to influence the group, it will most likely face failure. People rarely like change. They resist suggestions. Learned behavior is difficult to replace.
If I were to analyze your tests from the previous session, I could draw conclusions about your daily behavior—whether you are rigid or open in communication.
What seems obvious to me is terrifying and obscure to the person trapped in the cave. Confronting my direct recommendations would likely make you feel attacked, cause resistance, denial, or protest.
That is why the process of change must be gradual and adapted to the individual. Any forceful intervention creates a negative effect. Unfortunately, many people will never want to leave the cave and will call me crazy, intolerant, or cruel. Their response will include criticism and insults. In such an environment, the role of the teacher is to remain conscious and not succumb to judgment, because she already knows what it is like to be in darkness and has seen the sun.
The art of existence lies in remaining true to one's own world, regardless of judgment or rejection. This connects to creating an ideal environment where people learn to remove the greedy code from their minds and replace it with one that awakens humanity.
It's a shame that its original meaning can be twisted because of everyone's personal interpretations. Having knowledge and understanding doesn't automatically make someone humane or compassionate.