We can easily define the rules of the material world. We know what a cup is and what a vase is, what is cheap and what is expensive, what is harmful to us and what is beneficial. But when these same things need to be defined in the emotional world, we tend to simply wave our hands and conclude that abstract things are indefinable. In doing so, however, we place ourselves in a position where we are unable to define precisely the most important things in our lives – the things our hearts know.

How can we know what love is?

It’s interesting that, according to most people, the answer would be: we can’t. Or variations on the same theme, such as “it’s relative,” “it’s different for everyone,” “there’s no right answer,” and so on. But to agree that there is no certain truth about what constitutes our essence is absurd.

Let’s ask ourselves two questions to see how the human mind works:

What is love? And what is a cup?

For almost everyone in the world, it would be easier to say what a cup is. It’s obvious, it’s simple, and at first glance, it seems logical that this would be the easier question. But is that really the case?

A person is much more love than a cup. There is no reason for us to know something outside of ourselves better than what we are ourselves. We are love, and this knowledge is inherently given to us as our very essence. A cup is an external object that we come to know through acquired knowledge and is therefore more difficult to grasp.

Love is important, but the cup is not. If we mistake the cup for a plate, what follows from that? Nothing more than a slight inconvenience. But if we confuse love with fear, it can destroy us as individuals and, on a larger scale, lead to the collapse of all humanity. Why, then, do we live in a society that knows what a cup is but confuses love with fear every day?

The more important a truth is to our lives, the more uncertain we are about it—which is a disturbingly wrong inverse proportion. Knowing oneself and being certain of fundamental truths is the most natural thing in the world.

Do you love someone? That should be an easier question than “What color is red?” And if it isn’t, then we should look within ourselves to find the reasons why.

How can we tell what true art is?

Once again, this is one of those topics where we always end up concluding that there is no right or wrong and that there is no clear truth. But art has only one purpose, which is to create truths.

It is strange, to say the least, that we are unsure of what has true value and what simply wins our favor. Humans have the ability to assign value to things, and when this is one of the fundamental aspects of our nature, to declare ourselves incapable of discovering the truth within our own essence is a paradoxical position.

Whether it’s cinema, literature, or music, every work of art either transcends the ordinary and delves into emotional depth, or fails to do so and remains merely at the level of mere appeal.

This often leads us to the question, “Who can determine this?” and while on one level the answer is “Anyone,” at this stage of our development, the correct answer is “The profound person.” Which brings us to another abstract question.

What kind of person is deep?

It’s curious how, in most cases, there’s still no answer. We can judge who is beautiful, who is good, who is smart. But when it comes to the most important quality, everyone passes and waits for a new round.

A person’s depth is their fundamental quality, and the only real factor by which people differ from one another. And even if we don’t understand what this depth consists of, it should be obvious to each of us which person possesses it. Because it is not the good or the smart, but the emotionally deep who lead the world toward progress.

And if emotional depth is something we cannot measure or prove with a test, we can certainly gain certainty about it through our inner sense. Which brings us to the final question.

What do we trust most – our body, our mind, or our heart?

And yet we observe an inverse relationship—we place the greatest trust in the body, and the least in the heart.

The eyes and ears can be deceived. The brain can be fooled. But the heart always perceives the truth through all the lies and illusions. The body and the brain are tools for the heart to experience itself and navigate the world better, but our essence always remains in the soul, which is the primary source of its existence. I am, therefore I exist. And it is completely illogical to place the least trust in that which actually guides our decisions.

Abstract things can be difficult to grasp. But they are also the most important. So we must focus on them and trust completely in that which is capable of understanding them – the heart.