The Tragedy of Habitual Acceptance

Xuefeng

February 19, 2025

Imagine a person born in a prison, spending their entire life within its walls, knowing nothing about the outside world. By the time they reach fifty, they would likely believe that this environment is natural and unquestionable—that life is simply meant to be this way. If they were fortunate enough to find love with someone of the opposite sex, they would feel happiness and joy, believing that this was the full essence and meaning of life.

Imagine a person born on a small island in the Pacific Ocean, an island inhabited by thousands of people who know nothing of the world beyond their shores, unaware that vast continents exist across the sea. They would be content with their island life, living their days in carefree joy, never entertaining thoughts beyond their island. Their birthplace tells them that everything is as it should be, that this reality is natural and inevitable.

Imagine a person born in a small country that experiences only two seasons—a dry season and a rainy season. Having never traveled far, they remain ignorant of the climates and landscapes thousands of miles away. Naturally, they would assume that the entire world is just like their homeland—where snow never falls, and winter is nothing but a myth. No matter their living conditions or quality of life, they would consider everything normal, believing that life is simply meant to be this way.

Imagine a person born on Earth, growing up accustomed to the daily rising and setting of the sun, the animal kingdom governed by the law of the jungle, and human society driven by conflict, competition, and the struggle for energy. Nations wage wars over land and resources. Though the night sky is filled with countless planets, they remain impossibly distant, forever out of reach. Instinctively, this person would believe that Earth is humanity’s only home and that this way of living is the natural order of existence.

Now, imagine if the person born in prison learned of a vast, beautiful world beyond its walls. If the islander discovered that endless oceans led to distant continents. If the one confined to a small nation realized that humanity could live in unity. If the Earth-dweller came to know about the Thousand-year World, the Ten-thousand-year World, and the Elysium World that exist beyond this planet. Their thoughts would no longer be confined to the limits of their upbringing. They would inevitably feel the urge to break free—or at the very least, to explore the vastness beyond. They would long to see the world.

This phenomenon reveals a profound truth: what we habitually accept often becomes the very chains that shackle our minds.

Dear reader, what are the things you habitually accept that may be limiting your imagination, obstructing your path to a better life, and hindering your vision of a bright and magnificent future?

A person is born, goes to school, finds a job, gets married, has children, starts a family, watches their grandchildren grow, and then, like their ancestors before them, dies—only to be placed in a coffin and buried beneath the earth. Is this not a tragedy?