We have finally reached the edge of the dilemma. While enlightenment that reveals the contradictions of the system is necessary, for an individual who has opened their eyes but lacks a safety net to deviate from the orbit, that enlightenment becomes a “curse” rather than “salvation.” Yet, it is deceptive to tell someone to simply close their eyes again and live intoxicated by the anesthetic of “small, daily happiness.” There is clearly a vast territory of freedom outside—must we be content within these narrow bars?
The Purpose of Enlightenment Lies in “Agency,” Not “Escape”
We often believe that enlightenment should immediately trigger a “grand departure”—quitting one’s job and changing one’s destiny instantly. Realistically, however, not everyone can leave. What matters here is the direction of enlightenment. True enlightenment should not merely criticize by saying, “You are in a prison,” but rather declare, “You are an agent who recognizes this prison.”
To be imprisoned without knowing it and to stay briefly while knowing it is a prison are ontologically entirely different things. The former is a slave; the latter is a strategist waiting for the right moment. Enlightenment should not be a force for immediate escape but a task to secure mental distance, ensuring that one’s soul is not mortgaged to the system.
The Drug of “Small Happiness” vs. The Weapon of “Small Freedom”
Those who conform to the system often advise us to “find happiness in the small things of daily life.” This is the sweetest candy the system offers. However, what we should aim for is not passive happiness, but the “practice of small freedoms.”
Even if the body remains within the orbit of sincerity, a part of the mind must constantly connect with the world outside. We must refuse to view the sincerity demanded by the system as “my everything” and instead reduce it to a “transactional tool” to gain external freedom. When this shift in perception occurs, the individual finally becomes an agent who “uses” the system rather than being consumed by it.
Solidarity: The Terror of the Outside That Cannot Be Borne Alone
The biggest reason an individual does not move despite knowing the truth is the fear of the cold wind outside. Therefore, what is more urgent than enlightenment is expanding the “territory of the outside.” We need more loose solidarities—communities where one does not starve even after deviating from the orbit, supporting each other with new values rather than conventional sincerity.
In a society dominated by the fear that “leaving means death,” enlightenment is violence. But in a society where there is a conviction that “even if you leave, there is a forest of ‘us,’” enlightenment becomes a blessing. Ultimately, if we cannot change the structure right away, we must become conspirators within the prison, sharing “news from the outside” and paving escape routes together.
How to Use Misery as Momentum
To move toward greater freedom, one must pass through the “misery of recognition.” The injustice and thirst we feel now are both the pain that torments us and the strongest evidence that we are still alive and are not slaves.
We must refuse to settle for the small happiness of daily life. At the same time, we must not loathe ourselves for being unable to leave immediately. Instead, we must live by thoroughly grasping the structure of this prison while harboring an “unfading outside” within ourselves. True freedom begins not at the moment of deviating from the orbit, but at the very instant one decides to dream of the outside while still upon the track.
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