Forsaken

"No man can ever be secure until he has been forsaken by fortune."

-- Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy.

Why? Because as long as fortune is still your constant companion, you place your security in external things. Once fortune has taken a hike, and you're still alive, you know that whether you're fortunate or unfortunate is ultimately out of your control. You do your best and sometimes good things happen, other times shit happens. Either way, you still abide.

Once fortune abandons you, it becomes clear that who you are so much more than your successes or failures. Your identity, and thus your security, are no longer tied to the roller coaster ride called life. Any security you find is within -- both within yourself and within the Life Force, Itself.

Once you have tasted that inner security, fortune no longer matters. You do what you do as authentically as possible, and let the results take care of themselves. You enjoy the highs, you endure the lows, but you reside in a place where neither can truly impact your identity or your security.

You are. That is all that you can be sure of. But, strangely, that alone is enough.