How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division

by Elif Shafak

Stories bring us together, untold stories keep us apart.

We are made of stories – those that have happened, those that are still happening at this moment in time and those that are shaped purely in our imagination through words, images, dreams and an endless sense of wonder about the world around us and how it works.

But the experience, vivid and visceral as it was, taught me an important life lesson: when you feel alone don’t look within, look out and look beyond for others who feel the same way, for there are always others, and if you can connect with them and with their story, you will be able to see everything in a new light.

Still today, as a novelist, I am not only drawn to stories but also to silences.

But here’s the thing: sometimes narcissism is not merely an individual trait, it is a collective one.

Have you noticed that people who are obsessed with conspiracy theories and take a certain satisfaction in diatribes and monologues, tend to know a remarkable amount about the subject that possesses them, most of it either pure misinformation or information filtered to suit their initial prejudices?

It is not a coincidence that all across the world authoritarian demagogues go to great lengths to incite and inflame polarisation.

What we are going through is also a crisis of meanings.

What are the values we should prioritise from now on: accumulation of wealth and a fat bank account, ambitious trade agreements and financial deregulation, profit-driven business models … or health and social care, diversity and inclusion, positive human interaction with natural ecosystems, purpose-driven business models?