This is why I belong, and why I believe. I commend to all this

When Clayton M. Christensen spoke the words, “This is why I belong, and why I believe. I commend to all this same search for happiness and for the truth,” he spoke not as a scholar of commerce, nor as a teacher of men, but as a seeker of truth and purpose. In his voice was the echo of every soul that ever gazed into the great mystery of life and asked: Why am I here? What is my place in the design of things? In saying “I belong,” he affirmed the deepest yearning of the human heart — the desire to be part of something greater than the self. And in saying “I believe,” he declared that belonging is not enough without faith, that true belonging arises when the heart is anchored in meaning and guided by truth.

From the beginning of time, humanity has walked this same search. The philosophers of Greece, the sages of the East, the prophets of Israel — all sought to understand what lies beyond the veil of the visible. They understood that happiness is not the fleeting comfort of pleasure, but the serene joy that comes when one’s life is aligned with the eternal. To search for truth is to set sail upon a vast and restless sea, where storms of doubt will rise and winds of confusion will blow. Yet those who persist — who hold to faith as their compass — will find that the horizon is not an end, but a beginning. Christensen’s words are a call to that same voyage of discovery, an invitation to every soul to step beyond the shore of certainty and seek the light that guides all living things.

Consider the story of Socrates, who walked the streets of Athens questioning the wise and humbling the proud. He sought no riches, no titles, no comfort — only the truth. When condemned to death for his teachings, he drank the cup of poison calmly, saying that a man who has lived by truth has nothing to fear in death. His belonging was not to the city that judged him, but to the eternal city of wisdom and conscience. His belief was not a creed, but a way of life — the steadfast conviction that the examined life is the only one worth living. Thus he, too, commended to all the search that Christensen praises: the noble, unending quest for truth and inner peace.

To believe is not a passive act; it is an act of courage. It is the will to stand firm in the unseen when the world demands proof. And to belong is not merely to fit in, but to root oneself in something enduring — in faith, in love, in purpose. Christensen, a man of intellect and invention, knew that the mind alone cannot sustain the spirit. Knowledge without faith is like a lamp without oil; it shines for a while and then fades. But belief, nourished by truth, becomes a flame that endures through all darkness. This is why he spoke not only of knowledge, but of the search for happiness — for the truth that warms the heart as well as enlightens the mind.

The ancients would say that such a search is the duty of every soul. The Buddha left his palace of luxury to find enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree; Moses climbed the mountain to receive the law; the Apostle Paul endured chains and hardship to spread the word of faith. Each found belonging not in comfort, but in conviction. Each believed because they had seen the light that dwells beyond reason — the truth that does not fade with time. Christensen’s words stand in this same lineage, a reminder that our greatest inheritance is not wealth or wisdom, but the courage to seek, to believe, and to belong to what is eternal.

From this, we learn that the true measure of life is not in achievements, but in alignment — in how closely our daily actions mirror the truths we claim to believe. The search for truth is not confined to scholars or saints; it belongs to every soul who dares to live with integrity. To live without belief is to drift rootless in the wind; to live without belonging is to wither like a leaf cut from the tree. But to live in search of truth is to walk the path of peace, where every step brings the heart closer to harmony with the divine.

So, let this teaching be carried forward. Seek truth with the humility of a student and the courage of a pilgrim. Pursue happiness not in possessions or praise, but in the quiet knowing that your life serves something good and eternal. Ask yourself often: Where do I belong? What do I believe? And let your answer be more than words — let it be the way you live, the kindness you offer, the love you share. For in the end, as Christensen taught, to belong is to find your place in the great story of humanity, and to believe is to light a torch that will guide others toward the same unending truth.