"Is death an end or a means?" Don't ask the question to yourself; the answer to something that will eventually eat away and destroy you lies within you—don't forget that.
I want to ask you a question: "Are you afraid of death?" This isn't a simple kind of fear, not like "I'm afraid because I'll die."
"What are you afraid of? What's the reason behind your fear? Question yourself. I always asked myself these things, but in the end, we're all lower life forms, aren't we
We can't know or learn anything; we just have to follow the rules. I always tried to find the answer to this question, but it felt like something was stopping me.
I encountered the same situation while trying to improve my drawing skills and in many other things. I wasn't afraid, but I was afraid of how I would die—or rather, when my test would end.
They always say life is a test, right? Then the longer it lasts, the worse it gets? Think about it. Would you rather take your exam early or late?
Of course, somewhere right in the middle—it varies from person to person. It felt like one side wanted to kill me while the other wanted to keep me alive.
I came face to face with death many times, but I didn't die. It was as if someone kept saving me so I could live longer.
But what if life isn't our test, but rather the test of the angel and devil over us? If we die early, the devil finishes their test, and if we die of old age or later in life, then the angel finishes theirs?
Of course, I'm just making this up. Even if you're born lucky in this world, misfortune might not leave you—or won't.
What have you done to realize your dreams? You slept, you ate, maybe you went to school, but did you make a real effort? Is your fear of death because you'll leave incomplete?
Or because you won't achieve your purpose? Or because you won't find the meaning of life? The reason I fear death is because I can't understand myself.
I haven't been able to understand myself up to this point, and I never will. Isn't it frustrating to leave a story unfinished? So be afraid of leaving it incomplete.
Don't have a purpose? Then try to understand yourself because you don't have one. Still can't? Try—try everything, find a purpose!
Finding one is easy, but achieving it is hard. Are you worried about those you'll leave behind? Why worry? Maybe life gave you something good, but it also took something in return—or will.
Whose life in this world is perfect anyway? Are you afraid of living in vain? Then be afraid. Fear is something every living being possesses, and wasting your life is your own fault.
Animals attack their enemies out of fear and try something new—why can't you? Are you afraid because you don't know death? Erase it from your memory.
No human or animal knows death. In fact, animals don't even grasp the concept of dying. If you're taking a test, don't leave it blank—at least write your name or something.
Are you afraid of dying because you'll regret it? Then regret it. You can't do anything in that case. I won't say "the past is in the past." "You never forget the taste of something you've eaten."
In this world, even sages have limits to their knowledge. What sage knows everything? Don't name sages from movies or TV—I'm talking about real-life sages.
Sages of the old times were called such because they possessed the knowledge of their era.
And right now, we all know more than they did. So now that you're more knowledgeable than someone from ancient times, does that make you smarter?
I don't know—every person is different. You might be asking me, "Why are you telling me this?" Honestly, I don't know either. I've spent almost my whole life playing games and being lazy.
I was slightly above average as a student, so it wasn't a big deal. But I noticed something: students who scored higher than me always received praise, even though their scores were only a few points better.
Until that moment, I had never studied for an exam—I only studied for about 20 minutes—but they were actually putting in the work, while I was expecting high scores through laziness.
"Laziness is the greatest obstacle on the road to success." I learned this proverb that night, but I didn't really care—my foolish brain didn't even register it.
But I tried, and I succeeded. At that moment, I thought I had conquered laziness, but we're the ones who inject laziness back into ourselves.
If you keep motivating yourself by saying, "I'll do it! I'll do it!" and then fail, you slowly slip back into laziness. Don't force-feed yourself motivation. Don't fill your head with aimless dreams. Just remember this: "Either I succeed or I win."
Of course, not everyone can succeed or win, but even trying is a success in itself. You're not a coward. It's those of your own kind who make you feel insecure and afraid.
Why do you listen to them? Some of you might know the story of "The eagle among chickens."
Maybe it's not a very famous story. But what if you're an eagle who can fly to the skies among those chickens? In this story, the chickens shattered the eagle's self-confidence by saying, "You're a chicken!" and the eagle believed it was one.
If it had known it was an eagle, would it have flown to the sky? Or stayed grounded?
Who knows. If you still don't believe in yourself, take a look at yourself. What do you want to change before you die? Your body, your mind, your grades, your future—what else? I'll give you one answer: you can't do all of it.
If you don't believe it, try. If you're going to exercise, you have to do it consistently. If you want to improve your mind, you'll have to avoid certain things. If you want to fix your grades, you will—but if asked again later, could you keep doing it? Want to change your future? Then you'll have to do all of this and more.
Can your body—more precisely, your mind—handle it? Can you make a program out of all this? Can you carry this burden on your shoulders? You can't.
No one can. So don't fall into despair. Think: aren't you already good at some of the things I listed? Or satisfied with them? Then change the others.
Maybe while doing that, no one will believe in you. Let's say you're good at everything—even accomplished your goal and became rich! Then what will you do?
And if you achieve all this early, your mentality will probably start to slip. There's no need to rush. "I'll just find a new goal," you say? Finding a goal is easy—but let's say it's easy at a young age.
What about when you're 30? What could you come up with? Think—I'll give you time. You've done everything, you're rich, you have a family, your goal is achieved.
Can you think of a new one? If you said, "I'll earn more money," then you need to relearn the word "goal." "Money" is not a goal—it's a means. If you said, "Travel the world," that depends—it's a goal for some, a tool for others. Now answer me this: "Why are you afraid of death?"