As we wandered the Mayan ruins in Tulum, our captivating tour guide – and Yucateco – Angel, shared that the Mayan civilization wasn’t conquered by the Spanish like the Incans and Aztecs were.
Instead, the Mayans destroyed themselves.
How did they do this?
They kicked out the wise elders.
The “knowledge class” – who had information, but not wisdom – took power.
They began to build by deforesting the land and causing climate change, which brought diseases the people were not used to.
They stopped worshipping their gods and started focusing on impressing their peers.
They started to fear the working class of hunters and fisherman and began to inbreed because they felt superior. And in a few generations this knowledgeable, but not wise, class of people destroyed a civilization that had lasted for thousands of years in just less than a few hundred.
My eyes were wide as I felt I was being told a parable.
I thought about our world right now in the midst of a pandemic.
Information is weaponized. Wisdom is ignored.
Fear is the message. Hope is scoffed at.
The globally-connected educated information class is in charge.
And yet the people are starting to see through the lies. And are trusting their intuitions and connecting back to God.
And maybe we can prevent history from repeating itself.