Nightingale and Purpose- Catlynh Phan

I started reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah recently. Although I have not gotten very far in the novel, I couldn't help but be struck by the first line of the book "In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are." How interesting it is that when humans are stripped of virtually everything we find out how good and how evil each person is?

In love we find ourselves wanting to be better for the other person and wanting to strive to be the best versions of ourselves. In love we find meaning to live on and be better. 

In war we find ourselves coming face to face with who we truly are. Maybe we are not as good as we thought we were. People find themselves killing to keep themselves alive. But, contrary to what the quote suggests, I think that war can drive us to find out who and what we truly value or love in our lives, our purpose for living. Who would we kill for? Who would we die for? War drives us to extremes, and in doing so exposes our raw selves without superficial conditions or constraints. We find reasons to keep going despite being reduced to nothing. 


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