During my philosophy class, one time, my teacher had mentioned about Friedrich Nietzshe’s three metamorphosis of the spirit namely camel, lion and child. I had suddenly recalled the kind of life I had back then. When I was a kid, I was really curious about almost everything. I never stopped wondering why the sky is blue, or why do leaves fall from trees, why I can’t fly just like the birds. There was a universe of truth and wisdom beyond my ken, and it fascinated me.
The evolution of things is clearly observed today. The internet, for example has become an instant teacher of facts. But I didn’t have way out to instant internet gratification. I was left to think about things. My search for knowledge, as I travelled through childhood and teenage, led me to dwell on the weightier things in life. Intuitively, I knew that many of the adult things beyond my experience were serious, perhaps even dreadful, matters. The more that I reflected on these matters, the more I became a serious person myself. I was weighed down by what I knew. I stared too long into the abyss and I started to see the abyss in me.
Upon realizing this, I had slowly understood and identified the spiritual transformation that I had. It’s really weird when I talk about myself openly but I cannot let this opportunity pass. In my 17 years of existence, I knew that I had once become a camel by allowing my immature quest for knowledge and wisdom to lead me into the darkest and most disturbing corners of existence. Honestly speaking, even though I had once regretted on some of the decisions I made before, I am still thankful that I made those because I definitely learned a lot from it.
As what we could observe, camels can carry great weights and survive in the desert. But if we compare it to a person, the weighted individual is inevitably taxed by their burden. Over time, they run the risk of being poisoned by bitterness, despair, and the spirit of revenge. This point calls for a lion. The lion is the “king of the beasts.” The lion spirit says “I will” – and that is the whole of the law. This time, a person becomes brave and learns to stand a principle which will somehow prove his maturity.
Just like in cinemas, my life had its ups and downs too. From being a camel to lion, at some point, I became a child. I became calm, tried to listen with experienced ones, learned, stood up and made another smart start. :)
