84. Necessary And Contingent

I pick up a rock from the ground and I let it go. It falls back to the ground. I pick it up again, and I let it go again. It still falls to the ground. I repeat the process several more times. The rock falls to the ground every single time. I conclude that the rock will always fall to the ground. This process of reasoning is called induction.

83. When The Windows Are Open

The windows are open and they will stay open. She opens them in the spring and keeps them that way into the fall, only closing them briefly whenever there is rain. But it rarely rains in the dry season, so the windows are almost never closed in the summer.

The windows must stay open because she needs continuity between the space inside and the space outside. When the air inside differs too much from the air outside, she begins to feel claustrophobic, as though she were trapped underground and isolated from the world. But with the windows open, the air is all one and the same, so she feels connected to the world outside. She feels connected to everything, to all that exists, and that makes her feel more alive.

82. Tragic Lessons

You’re watching a dramatic film with a complex plot and relatable characters. The film is beautiful but it’s also difficult to watch. The characters struggle endlessly with their problems, and things keep going badly for them. For a variety of reasons, they are unable to catch a break.

You can’t help but empathize with their concerns and feelings. The protagonist is a good person but she keeps making mistakes. Her mistakes bring great harm and suffering. She suffers and the people around her suffer. It’s painful to watch this unfold. There’s a sinking feeling inside you that you can’t seem to shake. It’s the sense that tragedy is inevitable. The story cannot possibly end well.

81. A Pernicious Illusion

The idea that I am a cohesive individual is a pernicious illusion. In this illusory reality, I am a self fully separate from all others. I see my desires and beliefs as fundamental expressions of the identity of this separate self. And I can easily raise my separate self above others out of vanity or pride.

An individuality where there is only a separate self set against the world as background is not sustainable. It puts me in conflict with everything and everyone I do not take to be part of me. This perpetual state of conflict means I produce endless strife and suffering for myself and others.

80. Addicted To Machines

We are addicted to machines. Machines help us solve material problems quickly and efficiently. With more machines, we can solve more problems, so there is always an incentive to build more machines. Meanwhile, we continuously develop new technologies that expand the scope of problems machines are able to address, so the demand for machines grows without end.

Human beings have real material needs and machines help us meet those needs. To argue we would be better off without machines would be an error. But by avoiding this mistake we have fallen into another one. We now tend to think that because machines can solve so many problems, they can eventually solve all of our problems. We now tend to see everything as a material problem that can be solved by instrumental means. It is through these tendencies that our addiction has formed.

79. Embracing Limits

We do not want to be restricted to being merely this or that. We want to be total, complete, unlimited. Any limitation is seen as a flaw, a problem to be overcome. We want to transcend our limits and become so much more than we presently are.

To transcend is to grow and the value of growth is undeniable. When we grow, we extend ourselves beyond what we could do in the past, and gain the ability to create new benefits for ourselves and others. But valuing growth does not mean every limit should be seen as a flaw that diminishes our own value.

78. Hold My Hand

You sit down beside me as I take a sip of coffee. Hot and fragrant, its bitterness rushes across my tongue. I relax into the comfort of the familiar drink. You press your fork into the cheesecake and ask me if I’d like a bite. I thank you for the offer, but I’m feeling full from lunch so I decline. We’re seated side-by-side, looking out at the street through the front window of the shop. People walk by, but they don’t notice us noticing them. I suddenly realize you’re sitting very close to me. I like that you are. When we were eating lunch, you were so enthusiastic and engaged in our conversation that I had to keep reminding myself to focus just so I could keep up. I liked how you asked me questions about my life, about my work, about my family. All of that might have been too much from someone else, but it felt right to talk about it with you. And being close to you also feels right. We’re so close and I wish you would hold my hand. I think that would feel right too. And then you turn to look at me and I look at you and you ask me if I’d like to hold your hand. I’m not able to answer immediately because I’m shocked. How did you know I wanted that? Surely you can’t read my mind. I finally smile and tell you yes and you take my hand in yours. Warm and firm is my first impression, but then also a bit damp. I realize this means you might be nervous and that makes me happy. It makes me happy because I want you to care about this and you do. But how could you know I wanted your hand? Maybe you didn’t, but you wanted to hold mine. And so you asked. Someone has to go first, after all. One of us has to take the risk of asking for what they want, in the hope that the other wants the same. If no one did this, we would stay separated. But you took the risk and now our separation has been transformed into connection. You’re looking out the window into the distance. I wonder what you’re thinking. Then it occurs to me that you might be thinking exactly this — what I’m thinking, you might be thinking too. Maybe this is all in your head, me included. To be entirely honest, I’m fine with that. I’ll live there, in you. I think it would be a beautiful place to exist.

77. Rage As Motivation

When I am angry about the wrongdoing I see in the world, I feel energized and capable. My rage becomes a source of motivation. It pushes me to take forceful action to resolve the problems I face. With this newfound purpose and energy, I feel ready to fight tirelessly on the side of justice to make the world better.

But while I might accomplish many things, my actions are unlikely to be especially good ones. When I am in the grip of anger, my attitude becomes adversarial. I see the unjust world as my enemy. I want to prevail. I want victory. I seek the most direct means to defeat my enemy and I pursue those means relentlessly.

76. Open Questions

You are aware, intelligent, savvy. You know the things you hear are not always true. Countless narratives are being spun around you. Powerful interests are trying to influence outcomes. Systems and institutions are working to preserve the status quo and themselves. People are continuously interpreting reality and each of these interpretations is biased. Sometimes these biases veer far from anything that could be called truth.

You know all of this, but if you happen to forget, the absurd media that ceaselessly attacks your senses will quickly remind you. You’re not going to fall for any lies. You examine everything you hear carefully, disregarding what is obviously false and investigating what you don’t yet understand. Sometimes people try to convince you of the truth of their particular narrative. You listen politely, but you always go your own way.