The Moto of The Fireflies
I don't play a lot of video games anymore, but I respect them as and art from and I enjoy watching other people play through them. The game I have been watching recently is called “The Last of Us”, which is essentially a post apocalyptic zombie survival horror game and there are several interesting elements to this game. The story is good and the characters are fantastic, but most for all it can spark interesting discussions on morals, ethics, and human nature, both it’s potential upside and tragic downside. This reflection isn’t really on any of those things though. It’s on something really stupid that has been bothering me about the Fireflies’ moto.
In the game, when the initial zombie outbreak happens, the government became increasingly tyrannical in order to try to gain control of the situation (it's funny how this response isn’t to far from reality, but I digress) and as a response to this use of force a group of “freedom fighters” calling themselves the Fireflies is formed and their moto is “When you are lost in the dark, look for the light.” While I admire the intention behind this statement. I think it misses the point of what it is trying to accomplish. The best moto (especially for a group named after fireflies, which are insects that literally produce light) would be “When you are lost in the darkness, BE the light.” Why is this small detail so important that I would write a whole post on it? I think mirrors and interesting occurrence in real life.
When we find ourselves in difficult moments, moments of darkness and despair, we often look to sources outside of ourselves for hope or love or light. This is not entirely a bad thing, we all need a support system of people we love and trust after all; however, when we do this we so often miss that the source of love, joy, and peace come from within us. If we want these things to be a part of our lives then we need to put them put into the world ourselves. It is by forgiving for example that we find forgiveness. It is by being kind that kindness becomes a reality to us. It is by giving that we receive. The only way to make any of these things real to us is to actually do them, to be them.
In the game the Fireflies function more as a terrorist group than anything else. Far from being the source of light in this dark tragic world they become yet another source of suffering. It robs them of their integrity, diminishes their effectiveness, and drives them to do increasingly worse acts in their “the end justifies the means” mentality. The world of the game is a harsh one with a lot of complicated situations; however, their goal of bringing light back to the world ultimately falls short because of their compromised integrity. This does happen in real life as well.
Rather than taking ownership of our lives and creating the light in the world. We sell ourselves out and give something else power over our lives. Ultimately, we need to stop thinking of “goodness” as something separate from ourselves or something we have to be given and start to choose to give it to the world instead. Not only does this make said goodness a reality for us, this experience will help us re-own the power of our decision making. It is such a liberating experience, in fact is true freedom and an incredible power.