“I - I know - I’m not the - best communicator, but… whatever happens to you, be honest, tell the truth, even if they do look at you funny. They will. But what you gotta understand, son, is that almost all of those people are full of shit.   They’re all part of this great big conspiracy: bullshit. And they’re scared of people like you, because those bullshitters know that you’re smarter than all of them. You know what you say to people like that? Hmm? ‘Fuck you.’ “ - Edward Darko

“Quid est veritas?” - Pontius Pilate

“I Am” – Jesus Christ

There is one person who consistently knows what is best for you:  Yourself.  Countless demagogues, hand-wringers, “teachers”, parents, fear mongers, war mongers, institutions, do-gooders, busy bodies, and organized religions will make no end of trying to train you not to trust yourself.   The hardest job you have before you son is to, at all costs, refuse their onslaughts and hold on to your center.  I speak not of nervously attempting to amass such comprehensive intellectual knowledge that you will always know the right fact for the right situation.  What I speak of is the inner knowing that recognizes no language other than the language of your heart. The language spoken not with words but with peculiar and poignant “prompts” as it were.  Prompts that give you a sober sense of what you are supposed to do. The voice is always there, even amidst the greatest of turmoil and distractions. We are all hardwired with it.  The trick is to keep your ear tuned to hear it.   Given the attendant ills and collectivist mores of our present society acquiring adeptness at knowing this inner voice will be a practice in what could now be properly called an esoteric art.  Perhaps an example would be in order:

There was a time when you were six and insisted, no matter how much I argued or got irritated, that I was going the wrong way to a certain destination.   We parked and got out of the car.  I started walking one way, you started walking another.  “Dad, it’s this way”, you said pointing.  “I don’t think so buddy, we’re going this way”, I replied as I kept walking.  But you didn’t budge.  You stood there, even as I beckoned and told you sternly to come on.  You got that slightly nervous half-furrowed brow look you always give when you want to challenge me on something.  You simply refused and politely, but firmly, from your mouth again, “Dad, I’m telling you, it’s this way”.  I knew it was hard for you, and scary, standing up to me like that, and I recall the hint of fear in your eyes.  Well, it turned out you were right and I had to apologize.  Some may see nothing too extraordinary in that event but I read between the lines that day. It was a prime example of you following your inner voice and having the courage to stand for it.  You did not abdicate your convictions simply because I was an “authority” figure. You knew what was right, and you stood your ground. Therein is the absolute crux of the issue. This may seem a tame example but it was a great inner victory the likes of which I pray you will consistently strive to achieve.  This will strengthen you for the much harder situations down the road where you will be dealing with other “authority” figures that don’t care a hill of beans for you. 

If you consistently repress your inner voice and allow other people’s opinions, whims, and commands to replace it you will be a double minded man and suffer great inner turmoil.  In essence you will be spiritually castrated, sapped of empowerment and vitality.  You will become an unwitting tool for others to use and abuse at will.  Like a soldier who marches into the bloody battles of unnecessary wars to take innocent lives all because he is “following orders”.  He lost his conscience and autonomy to an ill conceived notion of the “greater good” as defined by his “superiors”.  He stopped thinking for himself and listening to his heart.  Look closely inside such a man and you will see a gruesome and haunting spectre­ – a dark shadow that threatens to eclipse each one of our souls at the slightest lack of vigilance. 

Pray for such a man and hope that you can persuade him to a better life of peace.

Never emulate him. 

True strength comes from within and is more akin to a kind shepherd than a hardened warrior.  It revels not in haste, violence, coercion, or brutality. 

The soft overcomes the hard.  The flexible survives while the stiff is broken.  Water smooths the rock.  Love conquers hate, starting first and foremost with the love of yourself.

Listen to your voice. When they ask you “Whose the boss?”, you point your finger to your chest and answer “I Am”.  If they try to tell you different you tell ‘em their opinion on that particular issue can be goddamned.

Love,

Dad