LIFE IS A BATTLEFIELD

“Don’t you know life is like any military campaign? One must serve on watch, another in reconnaissance, another in the front line… So it is for us - each person’s life is a kind of battle, and a long and varied one too. You must keep watch like a soldier and do everything commanded… You have been stationed in a key post, not some lowly place, and not for a short time but for life.”

- Epictetus, DISCOURSES, 3.24.31-36

We live spending days fighting. Fighting against a planet that is indifferent to our survival, or fighting against our emotions. I really think that there is nothing to compare with war when it comes to illustrate life concretly, but it's worth specifying that when I'm mentionning war it doesn't mean I'm for it in any way, violence solves nothing everyone knows it (or at least should).

In fact, everything that makes you win in war can make you successful in life. Discipline, sacrifice, courage, gratefulness. All these are great nice and inspiring words that anyone would agree with, but it’s our duty to be loyal to them and to fight to represent them in our lives to win our daily fights against everything that can happen.

Our life is a battle both literally and figuratively. Sometime you’ll win that mental battle against your emotion, sometimes you won’t. Maybe you’ll win that battle against the recruiter for the job you ever dreamt of, maybe you won’t. Sometimes the emotion you feel will be stronger than your will to contain them, and sometimes you’ll free fall like you are sky diving without a parachute. Sometimes you’ll give energy to things that make you sad, to past events that may have destroyed you. But guess what?

It’s perfectly okay because the war is not over, and it will never be.

You can always find a way to get up and fight again, no matter what happens. A famous quote that is relevant here is

“If you can’t fly then run,

if you can’t run then walk,

if you can’t walk then crawl,

but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

- Martin Luther King

I find it pretty relevant in that case, both literally and figuratively. The first reason is the fact that what it says is pretty clear and self-explaining, but everything makes more sense if you have a look at Martin Luther King’s life. He literally spent his life fighting for his purpose, reuniting a nation for his cause. Even decades later, his fight is still relevant. Now even more than ever.

Mr. Luther King had a dream, and now everyone, including me, is screaming Black Lives Matter.

We’ve never been so close to the day MLK’s dream will be a reality for everyone in this world, the war has never been so close to its end, and it’s our duty to be continually fighting with honor for that cause, and against any other thing that split the human race.

Every battle that's important to you is worth fighting, but keep in mind that the only thing that will happen after the war, in any case, both win or lose, is tremendous growth.

To live is to fight, so live your life so that any battle you fight makes your heart beat harder and faster because no matter what, the war will never be greater than the will inside you.

Thanks a lot for reading the post until the end, I really hope you enjoyed it and that it inspired you a bit.

As usual, if you want to contact me for anything regarding the article, or for a recommandation or absolutely anything, don’t hesitate to shoot me a DM @JBDX_ or an email at [email protected].

Tomorrow’s post will be called “Try the other handle” so for all of that, and more, see you there :)