As the philosopher Akiko Ikeda said,
The essence of human beings, unlike monkeys, is not to be troubled, but to “think”.
It is to think about why we exist, why we have this consciousness, to think, to find ourselves, to transcend ourselves.
In this attempt, philosophy and literature may have a similar purpose.
If literature can be sublime and not just entertainment, it may be because it can create a “story,” a new myth, for humanity to find itself and transcend itself.
The Bible, the Koran, and the Buddhist scriptures are, in a sense, a hypothesis, a “story. The true bestseller in literature is, of course, the Bible.
And if philosophy is an attempt to formulate a personal hypothesis, then literature is the best means of making that hypothesis understandable and comprehensible to others.
This may sound a bit exaggerated, but in other words, a literary person is a “thinker” before a philosopher or a novelist, and is a revolutionary and a religious person who truly awakens mankind and raises its spirituality.
So, naturally, the thinker becomes a philosopher, and eventually is mysteriously led to the novel.
Not only the philosopher Akiko Ikeda, but also comedians, lyricists, and essayists, who at some point decide to write a novel, or actually do so.
It has nothing to do with age, gender, much less making money, status, or honor.
It is a revolution of the spirit through words.”
People who want to speak out against this world, people who are itching to shout something, people who still think they can do something. People who still think they can do something, people who think they have something to say.
If you are one of these people, and if you can afford to live, and if you have no lack of money, I hope you will actively participate in this spiritual revolution (Soseki Natsume said something similar in a lecture).
(Soseki Natsume said something similar in a lecture.) I feel that this is the only other means by which humanity can evolve (not perish).
This may be the great mission of humanity, to martyr itself to the greater will. And even if the myths we create are not appreciated, ridiculed, or profitable by the world, we can dedicate them to God, or to write them while dreaming that someone will read them a thousand years from now. Whatever it is, we want you to leave behind in a form what you “kept thinking” about.
I pasted these things on a fixed page of Evernote, a note-taking application, and when I feel unmotivated, or when I feel like giving up, or when I suddenly feel weak, I read them over and over again to inspire myself.
See you soon!
