Start with the observation

A person who treats reputation, money, health, approval and control as separate masters must continually negotiate with all of them.

Follow the reasoning

  1. Complete independence is impossible; the question is what our dependence ultimately rests upon.
  2. When every limited thing is treated as absolute, fear multiplies with the number of things that can be lost.
  3. When limited things are received within one greater relation, they keep their value without becoming masters.

A passage to hold beside it

“Belief makes the human being truly human; indeed, it may make the human being a sovereign.” 1

Read plainly

Belonging to one is not the erasure of freedom. It is freedom from asking every passing thing to guarantee life, worth and safety.

Try observing this

List the things whose approval or stability feels necessary for your peace. Ask which of them can truly carry that demand.

Risale-i Nur Collection · The Twenty-Third Word, First ChapterRead this passage ↗