As I've stated elsewhere, I love Fight Club (the book and the movie). If you have not seen it, you will likely be lost in reading this, and it will include spoilers. Please do yourself the favor of watching it first.

Ideas are larger than individuals. Fight Club is about an idea, expressed well, I think, by the character of Tyler Durden (portrayed by Brad Pitt in the film):

Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off. (Source)

In my "fall from grace," I see the plot of Fight Club. A man in the midst of pursuing his ideal lifestyle and all the material flourishes that go with it cannot sleep. He is bothered by something he cannot put his finger on until he meets Tyler Durden, an eccentric soap maker. Upon meeting Tyler, this man's world is turned upside down. He is forced to live without the safety net he built for himself. It is at times liberating, at times uncomfortable, and at times, it is painful. But the pain--the pain feels good. It makes him solid, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Then, the pain leads to something greater. A sense of heightened rebellion follows, and the man must attempt to pull his world back into place. He regains his perspective and faces the consequences that go with it. Still, the solidarity with himself and his fellow "believers" (not to be confused with religious Believers) remains in its raw glory. There is no encouragement. There is no acceptance of what is said at face value. There is no doubt. Most of all, a member of Fight Club finds reserves of strength to stand on his own, a "real Tom Sawyer," as Rush would put it:

A modern day warrior

Mean, mean stride

Today's Tom Sawyer

Mean, mean pride

 

Though his mind is not for rent

Don't put him down as arrogant

His reserve, a quiet defense

Riding out the day's events

 

...

No his mind is not for rent

To any god or government

Always hopeful, yet discontent

He knows changes aren't permanent

That has been my experience with religion and life in this transition to reality. More than ever, I want to be that hardened, solid man that belongs in Fight Club.

So, with that being said: