The Most Fruitful War

The greatest, most fruitful war of your life — and the only one worth fighting, worth trying for, is this one. Truly, the only meaning of life can come from identifying these chains that have been around us, unknowingly, silently dragging us away from who we are — and breaking them.

The greatest, most fruitful war of your life — and the only one worth fighting is this one. It is identifying all the chains that we inherit from our past, our parents, our surroundings, our experiences and our culture.

We must be relentless in understanding ourselves and why we behave the way we do — and we must question ruthlessly every minor detail that our own being consists of. Even the parts that feel familiar. Especially the parts that feel like home.

We must examine and dig into the unhealthy responses of our mind, every negative reaction to an external situation. We must identify these patterns or ‘chains’ that drive us around to do their self-perpetuating bidding.

Their only purpose is to come so close to our sense of self that they start feeling like our identity. And once they become a part of our identity, we pass them on to our future selves and to the next generation.

Truly, the only meaning of life can come from identifying these chains that have been around us, unknowingly, silently dragging us away from who we truly are — and breaking them. We must be vigilant, constantly. Because that is the only way to identify these chains.

We face the great challenge that befalls the man who is half asleep. He catches glimpses of the divine light in his strongest moments — yet from the shadows, his chains lull him into the sweet relief of comfort.

We must observe and grab every glimpse of the light and stay in it as long as possible. In its every bright flash, we must try and stay awake — as awake as we can, and see how these chains are all but a self-inflicted trick of the shadows.

If there is any kind of progress to being a better human, it must be in the man who is willing to see these chains as they truly are and be willing to yank himself away from them.

If there is any kind of courage, it must be in the man who is willing to destroy these impostors posing as himself — a man who is willing to do what feels like dying and be born again.

If there is any kind of freedom, it must be in the man who — in every flash of the light, breaks away another piece of his chains and moves closer to who he truly is. And really, if there is any kind of hope, it must come from a man who has mastered himself and won the most fruitful war.