Whether to take the red pill is a decision for today—on the choice to perceive the world correctly and live

This is not a story about being right.
Much less is it a story that praises courage or resolve.

The question is much simpler and much more blunt.

Do you want to live by perceiving the world as correctly as possible?
Or,
within the framework of conventional values, are you content with a life of receiving a retirement age and pension, and eventually dying?

Let me say this first.
The latter is also a life that is complete in its own way and perfectly valid.
It is designed for security, has low mental costs, and involves little friction with society.
For many people, it is even possible that this path leads to higher happiness.

Therefore, this is not an argument about
which is correct.
It is a story about which one you choose.

There is no metaphor clearer than this to explain this choice.
It is that scene from The Matrix.

Morpheusoffers Neo two pills.
A blue pill and a red pill.

The blue pill is the choice to return to the world as it has been.
A life lived within the narrative prepared by society,
living out meanings decided by someone else.

The red pill is the choice to know the true nature of the world.
There is no going back.
In exchange,
a life begins where you must continue to choose for yourself.

I want to avoid one misunderstanding here.
Even if you call it the red pill,
it is not the one that the Metron Seijin offers you in front of a low table.It is not some convenient item that, the moment you swallow it, allows you to grasp the truths of society,
suddenly understand everything, and live in a detached manner.

Reality is much more mundane, unpleasant, and anticlimactic.
Your body feels sluggish, the world feels cold,
and it starts from the thought, 'Wait, is this it?'

The only thing that is certain is that
you can no longer live by pretending you didn't know.,
that is all.

For a long time, Japan was a society where you could live without taking this red pill.

There was the country,
there were companies,
there were systems,
and the media provided the narrative.

Individuals
did not have to choose.
They did not have to discard anything.
They did not have to doubt.

Not waking up was
neither laziness nor a cessation of thought, but
the most rational and lowest-cost survival strategy.

Therefore,
there is no need to dismiss a life that does not wake up.
It was an optimized choice for that era.

The problem is that
that premise has already collapsed.

There is an illusion that must be discarded first in order to wake up.

It is the phrase, 'Japan is actually amazing.'

This is not a denial of Japan.
It is not a discussion about patriotism either.
It is a discussion about perceiving reality.

The technology exists.
The talent is there.
The diligence remains.

Yet, we are not winning.
Faced with this fact, the moment you think,
“We just did it the wrong way”
or “We just haven't tried hard enough,”
your thinking stops.

That is not hope,
but anesthesia.

Many people think
DX, skill-building, and efficiency
are “change.”

But most of that
is merely life-support for the high-growth era model.

The real question is here.

In the first place, is there any point in continuing to stand in this ring?

The moment you ask this question,
you enter the realm of
choice,not “improvement.”

And choice always comes with a price.

Here, we must touch upon the most painful and realistic premise.

The country will not protect everyone.
Companies will not protect everyone.
Industries will not save everyone.

This is not a cold-hearted argument.
It is a confirmation of facts.

The moment you accept this premise,
you become an agent for the first time.
And at the same time, you become lonely.

Awakening is
not about gaining something.
It is about standing on the premise that you are not protected.

However, awakening is hard to see as an ideology.
It appears more quietly in the details of daily life.

The easiest place to see it is in
conversations with friends.

If you choose a life where you try to perceive the world as correctly as possible,
at least one thing will clearly change.

When you talk with friends,
topics other than illness, pensions,
or repeating political criticisms heard on TV
will naturally emerge.

Why is the system set up this way?
How do other countries handle it?
What kind of changes are likely to happen in the future?
To what extent will I be involved, and where will I get off?

This is not a difference in the amount of knowledge.
It is a difference in whether the subject of your thinking returns to 'yourself'.

So, what should you do for that?

If you choose the former life,
what you need is not determination, study, or gathering information.

Go abroad and do nothing.

It is not a business trip.
It is not studying abroad.
There is no need to bring back results.

Just,
make no plans,
and place yourself at the edge of daily life.

Even if you go abroad for sightseeing, you will barely see the essence.

Because sightseeing is,
the act of consuming a story prepared by that country.

Tourist routes,
English menus,
kind customer service,
explanations saying 'this is a famous spot'.

That is not for understanding, but
a world edited for satisfaction.

The structure is the same as watching television in Japan.

You see the essence
on a weekday afternoon,
in moments with no plans,
while idling in a cafe or supermarket.

There,
you realize that the premises you thought were absolute in Japan
are not even premises in the rest of the world.

This is not learning.
It is relativization.

Let me state this clearly once more.

A life talking about illness,
a life worrying about pensions,
a life getting angry within the stories on television,
these are valid in themselves.

The mental cost is low,
they are designed for peace of mind,
and they suit many people.

In other words,
whether you take the red pill or the blue pill, it truly does not matter to me.

There is no need to judge the choices of others.
There is no obligation to persuade them.
No one has the right to decide what is correct.

Because,
you only have one life, and you have no choice but to choose for yourself.

The conclusion is surprisingly mundane.

In a life where you try to perceive the world correctly,
when you talk with friends,
you can discuss things other than illness, pensions, and hearsay from television.

Do you find that
troublesome?
Or do you find it interesting?

That very feeling
becomes the dividing line for which pill you choose.

And finally, just one more thing.

If
you are thinking about when to take the red pill,
you are the youngest you will ever be today.

Tomorrow, or next year,
you will surely be able to put it off for the same reason.
But a day younger than today will never come again.

You can choose either one.
Just one thing.

Whether or not
you can say, "This is the life I chose for myself."

That alone
is something you cannot leave to others until the very end.