Today we ask that you question any Voice that tells you you should live a life that is painful or joyless because it is “responsible.”

Any Voice that says this is a liar.  This advice is false.

This Voice often likes to claim it is “realistic.”  It claims that following one’s heart is naive and childish.  It claims that mature people know that life is a joyless struggle, and to expect anything different is to set yourself up for disappointment, at best; and at worse, catastrophe.

Do not listen to this Voice.  It is a liar.

This Voice likes to claim that it is your friend.  It is telling you these awful “truths” about reality “for your own good.” It claims that it is only trying to help.  It wants to protect you.  It wants to keep you safe.

The Voice is a liar.  It is not your friend.  It is telling lies.  It is not helping you, even if it believes it is.  It is causing great harm.  It is exposing you to the worst danger there is: the erosion of your soul.  It erodes your vitality, your life essence.  It wishes to turn you into a shadow of your true self — a dim, zombie version of the real you.  That is what this Voice is really doing.

This Voice is at work when people do terrible things to their fellow humans.  This is how countless otherwise rational people have become servants of cruel dictators and tyrants — people like Hitler, and Stalin.  This is how they committed unthinkable acts.

In those situations, the Voice tells someone they have no choice.  You must go along with Hitler, and do terrible things.  Be realistic.  It is for your own good.  Don’t listen to your heart — that will get you killed!

Think about this.  It is the same Voice.  The same Voice that encourages you to go against your deepest feelings, to “be realistic” and lead a joyless existence “for your own good.”  It is the same Voice that converted ordinary people into Nazis.  This is no exaggeration.

So whenever someone tells you to go against your heart because it is time to “be realistic,” please remember this.  If the Voice wants you to live joylessly because that is the responsible way, and the only way to survive — please remember.  This Voice is not your friend.  It is a liar.

However bad you think your life may be right now, listening to this Voice will only make things even worse.

Nothing is more valuable than being able to sleep peacefully at night, because your conscience is clear.  That is priceless.  Money can never buy this for you.  And once it is lost, it is hard to get back.

That is why listening to this Voice is not responsible.  In fact, it is the most irresponsible thing you can do.