How dare<\/em> they question my authority?<\/p>\n How dare<\/em> they question my life\u2019s work?<\/p>\n How dare <\/em>they question who I am?<\/p>\n People have followed me and come to me precisely because<\/em> of my authority, of my life\u2019s work, and of my identity.<\/a>[1]\u00a0 I AM THE EXPERT.\u00a0 In a fit of rage, I sweep the books off of my table, sending them flying across the room.<\/p>\n I am the Expert.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>I am the Expert.<\/em><\/p>\n I <\/em>am the Expert.<\/em><\/p>\n I am the <\/em>Expert.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>Slowly, my anger dissipates, leaving me empty.\u00a0 What will the others think?<\/em>\u00a0 The Seeker is right: If others cannot grasp my my knowledge, what good is it?\u00a0 I look around at my life\u2019s work, at the vast collection of knowledge and wisdom that surrounds me.\u00a0 Have I been betrayed by my own understanding?<\/p>\n A knock at the door snaps me out of my spiral.\u00a0 I stare at the door blankly.\u00a0 Knock knock.<\/em> \u201cGo away!\u201d I bark.\u00a0 \u201cLeave me be!\u201d<\/p>\n The knocking continues.\u00a0 I cover my ears, trying to block it out, but the knocking pierces through my ears and into my heart.\u00a0 I cast an angry glance at the door before storming over to it and jerking it open, the rusty hinges squealing louder than ever.<\/p>\n Before me stands a gray cloaked figure, the hood pulled low over their face.\u00a0 \u201cWho are you?\u201d I demand.\u00a0 \u201cHave you come to mock me as well?\u201d<\/p>\n The figure shakes its head.\u00a0 \u201cI have heard that the Experts of this city are welcoming to the Pilgrim, are they not?\u201d<\/p>\n I snort.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve lost your way, traveler.\u00a0 There is nothing here for you any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n The figure pauses.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps.\u00a0 Or perhaps it is you who has lost your <\/em>way.\u201d<\/p>\n My nostrils flare as the words strike me.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did you say?\u201d I ask, my voice cold and flat.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you were like me, Expert: A simple Pilgrim on a journey to answer the questions you sought answers for.\u00a0 The pursuit of knowledge and wisdom is not found in locking oneself away from the world, but rather in the ever constant journey of discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy journey ended long ago,\u201d I reply.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve learned all there is to know.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pilgrim shakes their head.\u00a0 \u201cNot all, only that which you <\/em>deemed worthy of knowing.\u00a0 Tell me, you have absorbed so much knowledge over your life.\u00a0 But have you questioned it?\u00a0 Or have you taken it for what it claims to be?\u201d<\/p>\n I pause.\u00a0 \u201cHave I questioned it\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA great teacher once said, \u2018Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.\u00a0 Do not believe in traditions just because they have been handed down for many generations.\u2019<\/a>[2]\u00a0 You have consumed, but have you digested?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDigested\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExpert, your Pilgrim\u2019s journey has not ended.\u00a0 You have found identity in the power and titles of your station.\u00a0 While your certainty is to be commended, you have lost your way in the comfort of your knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n I gaze around at the tower of my making.\u00a0 The exquisite beauty of it stirs my heart and calls for me to resume my place in my armchair and to banish this fool.<\/p>\n \u201cExpert, leave this place.\u00a0 This tower of your own making has poisoned and crippled you.\u00a0 It has stunted your sense of adventure and wonder, for there is a world far greater than that which you can create.\u00a0 Expert, if you will, join me once again along the Pilgrim\u2019s Path.\u201d<\/p>\n Could they be right?\u00a0 Has my creation harmed me rather than helping me?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>The Tower calls to me, telling me to ignore the Pilgrim.\u00a0 You\u2019ve worked so hard; why throw it away?\u00a0 You\u2019ve earned this.<\/em><\/p>\n As I stare at the Pilgrim, the sense of discontentment rises in my heart, growing ever stronger as I look around at my domain.<\/p>\n Is this truly what <\/em>I have been Seeking?\u00a0 Or is there something more?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>\u201cJourney with me, Expert.\u00a0 It can begin with one step.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/originals\/d0\/21\/24\/d02124c6a0b769757550ddc5e7b33f77.jpg\")
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