‘Nothing is so conductive to greatness of mind as the ability to subject each element of our experience in life to methodical and truthful examination, always at the same time using this scrutiny as a means to reflect on the nature of the universe, the contribution any given action or event makes to that nature, the value this has for the Whole, and the value it has for man’. – Marcus Aurelius

For billions of years you have been non-existent. There was nothing, Nothing! Pure blackness. You didn’t see, didn’t feel, didn’t think, nothing. And then… boom! There you were. This conscious field, this virtual layer of reality appeared. This strange screen inside your head. There is probably no one reading this right now who remembers the first moment light penetrated their cornea, The first moment that reality broke down your cosy state of non-existence and demanded you to take a look. Which is probably why so many of us lack the feeling of astonishment that we should be having. The gradual process of getting acquainted with life, with existing, while being distracted by the most arbitrary phenomena, created this magic trick which made the extraordinary ordinary. It is not. So many of you know the term ‘taking life for granted’, but do you really know what it means? Please, stop being distracted for a moment. Close your eyes, close your eyes and see! There it is, clear as it has ever been for the short period you have been alive. And yet, it seems that most of you have always missed it. Actually, I am quite certain that most of you are still missing it right now. How diabolical, that reality can bestow us with the greatest, most unfathomable gift, the gift of being, and make it so that it seems normal, boring even. If we truly understood the magnitude of what is happening right now, we should all be going mad, mad! I see people being more impressed by shoes than by their ever-so-present experience of reality. What is this madness?

Now let us take a moment to appreciate our next subject of magnificence: Reason. Tell me, Have you ever taken a moment to appreciate your ability to reason? And even if so, have you done it enough? Using your reason to understand existence is not an optional action, it is your responsibility, as human, as sentient being. Every day you have spent wandering this earth, amusing yourself with arbitrary pleasures, or fleeing arbitrary pain, ignoring the responsibility of being a being of reason, is a waste. You only have so much time before the magic trick ends, forever. And trust me, that forever will be a lot longer than the forever you have already conquered before your inception. Do you really not desire answers? Or are you just fleeing your responsibility?

‘But how do you expect me to find these answers? Is it not so that millions have tried before me and failed?’ Have you not understood what I said before? Looking for the answer is your responsibility, it is not optional. Would you not try to breath just because you saw others fail? And more practically: without your question, those millions you mentioned would have been billions. In human history, a vast minority of true followers of reason have made human life bearable, and have shared with us wisdoms the value of which will outlive you and me both. These men followed their duty, when will you?

‘But I do not possess the intellect to meddle in these affairs! What good could possibly come out of my pursuit of reason?’ Why are you making excuses? Is it not the case that you master the ability of language? Are you not able to access a collection of tens of thousands of words and create out of them complicated sentence structures to convey an infinite amount of concepts? Is it not true that you can do all of this with the least bit of effort? Your brain contain 100 billion neurons, forming 100 trillion connections. All you need is focus and purpose!

‘Within ten days you will be regarded as a god by those very people who now see you as beast or baboon- if you return to your principles and the worship of Reason.’- Marcus Aurelius

And lastly, after listening to your objections, I cannot help but to ask: Do you really want to live your live conceding its biggest, and most important challenge? Which is gaining a thorough understanding of your own existence and using reason to guide you, us, to an ultimate state of well-being? Rejoice your luck that you have been given the formidable challenge of conquering this sea of complexity together with your fellow humans. With your brothers and sisters. And stop wasting time.