I have a friend whom I’ve known for a decade. We parted ways after graduation in high school and, for quite some time, we’d lost touch with each other’s lives. Then, fate itself manifests through our mutual hobby and binds us together again.
The years through which we have been separated have apparently shaped us into different people. I pride myself on having dived deep into the complexities of life, as a result of which I see something others can’t see, I feel something others can’t feel. By right, such insights would transform the way I exist in relation to the world, but somehow they lead me nowhere. Instead of a haven full of pure lights, I see an endless abyss constantly devouring my soul. However, that scarcely humbles me, for if I could intellectually comprehend and grasp reality, I am still superior to those who have absolutely no idea at all. Right?
There, I met my friend and since then, we have been exchanging views whenever we get to meet. He is the only one who is able to render my ego powerless; it is as if my ego has nowhere to project itself, hence is forced to stay dormant for as long as it can. He looks content with what he has and always stays true to his own principles, his success does not lead him astray but only reinforces the kind of person he is. In my view, success, if not harnessed with wisdom, has the potential to befoul one’s soul. He knows what he wants, how his life in the future would turn out if he handles it with authenticity, his freedom lies not in how much he can acquire, but his power of self-restraint to not muddle.
Surprisingly, he is both an outlier and someone who is totally “common”, the way he exercises his own human-ness in the sick world makes him both. He does not concern himself with the profundities like I do, but in some way, he is the embodiment of the profound values that I am desperate to integrate into my life. If only mankind could see the world as it is, most of the problems would be gone instantly. Without the knowledge of perceiving reality without interests, he shares with me how he appreciates observing his surroundings, and without the knowledge of universal love, he shares with me how he prioritizes others’ wellbeing over his. “I am jubilant as long as you are jubilant” is his philosophy, it does not come from the books, but his being integrated with the totality of his life.
There, he met the love of his life, and the universe gave him something he always knew in his heart in the form of tangible love. People have always been confused by the possibility of unmediated love, a love so pure that nothing could appropriately define what it is, and it is because it is nothing that nothing could ever harm it, for it cannot be stripped away by something higher than itself, it is the highest, and my friend knows it too well to make it a part of who he is.