Life is a Battlefield
13 Jun 2024
“Don’t you know life is like a military campaign? One must serve on watch, another in reconnaissance, another on 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
Being on watch, having reconnaissance, and on the front line are metaphors to me, and it’s somewhat comforting.
Being on watch is looking into the future, seeing what is coming up and planning for those events.
Being on reconnaissance is seeking knowledge, developing yourself and exploring things that you wouldn’t normally encounter to better yourself
Being on the front line knowing what to care for, what to keep stable in this current moment in life, your health, your emotions, and your diet. Not only this, being on the front line means doing what you have already planned.
As quoted from Ryan, “To live is to fight”. You need to be understand that doing many things in life isn’t a breeze in the part, instead is a never-ending fight that becomes easier with time through habits and fortitude.
Fight for your goals, keep on watch, be in reconnaissance, and be on the front line.
“As in war, so in life” is quite a nice way to sum this up.
Something about this reminds me of video games in which there are the concepts of safe houses and quests. Each time you return to your safehouse, you have somewhat of a comforting feeling, knowing that you are back in a space where you won’t die out of nowhere (games like Subnautica or God of War Ragnorok). That is your empire, your castle in which you keep watch from. Being on reconnaissance is much like scouting in these games, exploring new areas, encountering new enemies. Being on the front line is getting through the tedious quests or farming for resources with all aspects described in combination to form quite a “comforting” or “immersive” experience? At least that is what I felt whilst playing such games. Fleshing this out might take some time, so it might be a separate post, but these are my reflections on June 13, thanks for reading.