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All of philosophy is basically an exercise in “know thyself.“ And how you start is really simple. You listen to yourself. Listen to all of those voices inside your head — what they are saying about you, about the world. The kinds of excuses and complaints they come up with.

How they judge other people, blame other people, how they deny parts of you because they don’t go along with your image. How they make you ashamed or fearful or prideful of certain things. How they convince you to hate something, or to love something.

If you can become even remotely aware of all that, you will soon discover that the mind is a battlefield, and you’re not even the general. You’re a foot soldier, following orders from faculties inside your own head.

Now, if you can also accept the fact that a lot of those voices are not even yours, but that they’re planted in there by education, culture, conditioning, tradition, then you may realize the factual truth behind the expression “spiritual warfare” and why the way of the warrior is the only viable method of overcoming it.

You see, you may retreat from battle entirely, abolish all of your earthly desires, deprive yourself of sensory inputs, and live an ascetic lifestyle in a cave or a monastery. Or you can rebel against your generals, question their motives, dismantle their influence — and become the one who directs the outcome of the war, which is the outcome of your life.

Realize this:

You’re in deep and no one’s coming to save you.

If you drag yourself down, you’re dragging everybody else along with you. If you pick yourself up, you’re picking everybody up with you. That’s the reciprocal nature of life. That’s how you’re responsible, not only for yourself, but for everybody else.

Look at the situation. Your friends and family are struggling alongside you. That’s why you need to be strong. Not for you, for them. Fuck you. Love them.

They need to see the courage that a hopeless, beaten-down man can muster up in a time of fear, uncertainty, and darkness. They need to see that defeats are not permanent and that they are definitely not what define us. Defeats are fuel for future growth. The way forward is born out of the unbearable present.

I have to force my weary mind and body to work; the soul must be alight with the fire of passion, of enthusiasm. Passion for life, enthusiasm for the work and the Way. It exists, it’s all in me, I know it. But it takes a Warrior to find it, refine it, and show it.

Love of God; love for all — remember that this is worth fighting for.

Your future wife is out there somewhere. Your future kids are waiting to come here. You’ve barely touched the surface of everything you can bring into this world — and you want to call it quits? Because you’re <em>tired?</em> Because your desires are not being gratified? Because things aren’t as easy as you’d like them to be?

How does that sound to you? Does that sound like the mindstate of a Warrior?

Then screw it. Let it go. Expect nothing. You came here with nothing and you leave here with nothing. What part of that is too difficult for you to understand?

Just do your work. Don’t complain. Don’t make excuses. Just do what you have to do to be a good person, to do what you came here to do. If that’s writing philosophical essays, great. If that’s chopping wood and carrying water, great. If it’s a combination of the two, even better.

Greatness is not an outward expression. Greatness is an inward position. It is that scaffolding that allows you to always build. It is the knowledge that nothing can hurt you. For everything is a lesson, and whatever happens, you’ll come out on the other side, stronger.

It is the faith in God’s plan and your devotion to carrying it out. It is both a vision of a better future and the surrender to a higher power.

Written: 13 February 2026, Estonia Photo taken: 23 March 2025, New Zealand