We are residents of a world in turmoil, a
world in conflict with itself. We are but specks of dust on a barren rock
hanging in a vast empty space. We lead seemingly meaningless lives – bound to
eventually wither away and be forgotten. Yet, we have hope.
We inherently know that this is not our
purpose. We go about our daily lives with a mindset that has purpose. We know
that we are here for much more – that we are part of a bigger, much grander
design. We know we have our own unique purpose – we play our part in a tale
that is intertwined with our very existence. The tale is being told by a
Storyteller.
He lets the characters decide what they want to be. He merely knits everything
together, willing us to fashion a story worth telling.
And the story is set in motion. We play the characters that define us. We
decide the ending.
And we have already made that choice.
Our world is doomed to destruction. We have
taken the free will that the Storyteller gave us and we have squandered it! We
are confused by our own free will. We have abused, misused and prodigalized it!
We have made that choice willingly. We chose the ending of the story and when
we get to the end, we are not going to like it. We have taken the grandiloquent
story that the Storyteller originally penned down and turned it into a gruesome
tale of horror. And we are going down that road. At the end, there will be no
more pages to turn, nothing left to read. The story will have ended. But we
cannot go back to change it. We have written it down in indelible ink. We will
fade off the last page into a meaningless, hopeless void – disappearing into a
darkness shrouded by obscurity, never to be remembered again.
Unless we choose to reverse it.
We are designed to operate on a higher
intellectual level. We think deeper, we seek to understand. To realize that our
society elevates such trivial matters to such a high degree of importance is
almost laughable! We miss the point; we fail to see what really matters – what
really matters!
This simple fact eludes us.
But it is not difficult to grasp once we understand what we have to
do –
Eliminate the trivial. See everything in its own light. Give each
matter its due importance. Understand how significant the matter at hand is
relative to an absolute objective matter of infinitely high significance.
Only then will we be able to rise above the
trivialities of base human desires and focus on what really matters – what
really matters.
The world around us is in a state of suspended animation. This is a
place where monotony is regarded as the pinnacle of success and is desired
above all else – it is shrouded in phrases such as ‘settling down’ and
‘retirement’ and gives an almost satisfied exclamation of “having made it!”
We live in a sphere where the commonplace objects are deified and
the truly marvelous, ignored.
We are caught in a world in a swirl of emotion. We are perpetually
brewing a volatile concoction of emotions which is just waiting to explode.
Emotion is necessary. It's what makes us human. It's what separates
us from the beasts. But as much as it is required, it must also be kept in
check. Examining our horrible past with free will, we can see only clearly how
superfluous emotion has played its part in our ruin. Emotion is arguably the
only force strong enough to break down the barrier of the intellectual part of
us and convince us with irrational and illogical arguments to make bad
decisions – decisions we later regret having made. Temptation is an emotion in
an abstract sense. It convinces us to make decisions against our best interests
and we gladly oblige against better judgment.
Unchecked, emotion can spiral out of
control and damage ourselves and those around us. Decisions made while on an
'emotional high' are irrational ones. They are decisions we will not stick to
once we sober down. Emotion has only worked against us from the beginning of
time.
As we come to accept this foreboding imagery that superfluous emotion has
wrought for us, we cannot help but realize that emotion is needless in many
spheres of life.
Be as it may, emotion is still an integral part of us. It is
indispensably vital to restrain us from becoming rigid. Emotion gives us
personality, makes us who we are. Emotion transforms the creation into
personified creativity! – So it is no wonder that the Storyteller gave us this
distinctive characteristic. It gives our character that depth, that shade of
unpredictability!
Nonetheless, we need a dynamic harmonic balance between intellect and emotion.
When we are able to disconnect emotion from all decisions and acts which
require intellect - pure intellect - that is the moment we stop stuttering and
take a giant leap forward. It will expand new horizons for us. We will become
aware of countless truths that had eluded our stubborn minds before.
That is why intellectual decisions - informed, calculated decisions
- are the way to go ahead successfully! However, as we go through this
transformation process, we must still remain humble. Conceit will work against
the purpose of transforming an emotion-ridden society into an intellectual one
– an intellectual society with just the right tinge of emotion, used wisely.
After having seen this from a bird’s eye perspective – seeing it in
its true colors, stripped of all the fake vivacity – we are required to make a
difference; we are accountable for this revelation. We are expected to breathe
life into a world where change is fought for, but resisted when it arrives.
Remember the story we are part of. Remember
the bigger picture. Remember the Storyteller.
What is our part in the story? Are we just passers-by in tale that
unfolds around us? Or do we have a role to play in this drama?
We can’t all be protagonists, nor can we
all be stagehands. But we can all be the change that this world sorely needs.
We must do what we are meant to do, not what we want to do. For only then can
the story come together beautifully as was originally planned. There are no
small roles, only small actors.
What we decide to do collectively will alter the course of the story
to extents we cannot fathom! What we decide to do individually will determine
our character, our indentation on the story, our destiny!
Individually, our eventual goal is to achieve own unique purpose -
the purpose that defines us, that defines our eternity, our place in the grand
scheme of things. We must pursue this goal - this high calling. This is what we
are here for. We don't have all the answers; we haven't perfected the details
of our journey. But we do know this - we know where we're headed and we know
how to get there! It's only a matter of how the journey will pan out.
But the best thing to do right now, is to just rest in the
sovereignty of the Storyteller. Let his pen guide our character. Let us be colored
in the Author’s ink. We may not like what we end up being in the story but when
we read the book in its entirety, we will realize what a magnificent story we
are part of – a story written by a Storyteller whose characters yielded their
free will to him in exchange for the best possible conclusion to the story! The
story, immortalized in memory for all eternity even though the characters
themselves cease to exist.
We are residents of a world in turmoil, a
world in conflict with itself. We are but specks of dust on a barren rock
hanging in a vast empty space. We lead seemingly meaningless lives – bound to
eventually wither away and be forgotten.
Yet, we have hope.
We can find solace in the fact that there is a Storyteller. We are
not on our own. We have hope!
-
Written by Kenneth Rohan Kotian
(2013)
