The Everyday Human

January: On Existence 

January 31

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from the novel Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez.

“People just don’t change.” Have you ever muttered this phrase in response to repeated negative actions or the continued failings of others or yourself?

I used to believe this, but I've come to learn that we all change--and that it’s inevitable. 

We are all either changing for better or for worse.

With each and every day, life gives you the opportunity to change for the better. You just have to take the chance.

• Reflection title: To Change or Not To Change
• Creative inspiration: Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
• Reflection Question: How have I changed or not changed recently? Will today be the day I choose to change for the better?

January: On Existence 

January 30

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.

Isn’t it pretty to think that your life is unique? That you are a one-of-a-kind individual whose experiences and perception of world events around you are yours alone?

The truth is you’re not all that unique. Nor are your experiences. No one is. We’re all made up of the same biology. We all have similar thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears. 

And everything that is happening in the world has already happened in one way, shape, or form, and will continue to happen into the future long after you're gone. 

And everything that you feel has been felt by humans before you and will be felt by those who come after. 

But there is a profound comfort in knowing that your experiences and the local and global events you live through are nothing special. It is a reminder that you’re not alone in whatever it is you’re going through.

It is a reminder that we are all connected.

• Reflection title: Time Is a Flat Circle
• Creative inspiration: Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
• Reflection Question: How can I remind myself that the present is also both the past and the future?

January: On Existence 

January 29

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Life is anything but certain, and while that can be scary, it’s also one of the most beautiful and amazing things about it. 

You know who you are now, in this moment, and there is great potential for who you can become. 

But be careful. That can go in either direction.

You have the power to change your future--how will you?

• Reflection title: They Say the Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter
• Creative inspiration: William Shakespeare, Hamlet
• Reflection Question: Who am I now? Who do I want to become?

January: On Existence 

January 28

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from Oscar Wilde's De Profundis.

Our thoughts and actions are driven by what other people say, what they do, what they wear, what they eat, how they exercise--the list goes on. And this isn't necessarily a bad thing. We are social creatures and mimicry is in our DNA. But it can become a bad thing if we are not careful with what we are absorbing and echoing and adopting as our own opinions and thoughts. 

We can risk losing our true selves.

In this episode, we explore this idea and look at the importance of solitude to forget what everyone else is saying for a brief time and remember who we are.

• Reflection title: This Opinion Will Become Your Thought
• Creative inspiration: Oscar Wilde, De Profundis
• Reflection Question: Have I been my own person? What thoughts or opinions am I adopting and echoing? In what ways have I been mimicking others?

January: On Existence 

January 27

Today's reflection was inspired by Anais Nin's poem "Risk."

A routine is a beautiful and necessary thing. After all, consistency is the key to making lasting change and achieving your goals. No one ever said, “The erratic and chaotic bird gets the worm!” But when the groove that routine and tradition carve into your life becomes too deep, it can become a double-edged sword. You’ll start to feel too comfortable. Complacent. Shallow and flat. 

There comes a time to venture out and try something new, that is, if you wish to grow and change and discover yourself further. 

And you don't need to quit your job and leave your family to summit Mt. Everest to do this. It can be as simple as reading something new, going to a new park, or trying a new coffee place.

Examine yourself. Are you wound tightly in a bud? Do you wish to bloom instead?

• Reflection title: Remain Tight in a Bud, or Blossom
• Creative inspiration: Anais Nin, "Risk"
• Reflection Question: Am I too tight in the bud of my comfort? What small step can I take to begin the risk of opening into a bloom?

January: On Existence 

January 26

Today's reflection was inspired by Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Life is broken up into a series of three cycling phases: a time for questions, a time for answers, and a time for nonanswers (vague and roundabout words in response to said questions or perhaps more likely, not answers at all). But despite being an integral part of the blueprint of life, those minutes and days and years of questioning can feel long.

That's okay.

There is a time for all of these things. You will have questions. They will lead you to answers, or they won't. And if you get your answers, you will soon find more questions on the other side.

And that's okay, too.

Live with this understanding, and perhaps the periods of waiting for answers won't feel so long.

• Reflection title: Questions, Answers, and Nonanswers
• Creative inspiration: Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God.
• Reflection Question: Am I content, or am I waiting for answers?

January: On Existence 

January 25

Today's reflection was inspired by Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar. 

You are promised a great many things that are supposed to make you happy: money, fame, status, a new job, a promotion, a big house, nice car, the perfect partner, sex, alcohol, food, a new watch, a new phone, a new computer, followers, likes--the list goes on.

But look around you. How much of what you have that you once believed would make you happy . . . actually does?

Search your mind. Challenge the beliefs you have of the things you are told should make you happy. Reach beyond them and find the thing that brings you true happiness . . . what is it? Who is it?

• Reflection title: That Which Makes You Happy
• Creative inspiration: Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
• Reflection Question: What is it which truly makes me happy?
  
  

January: On Existence 

January 24

Today's reflection was inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's book The Dawn of Day. 

You die every night and are reborn every day. And there is a blessing that comes with this type of death--it offers you the opportunity to reflect on the past, choosing what actions and habits you wish to keep and cultivate, or which ones you wish to leave in the past because they aren't helpful or are downright harmful.

We are offered so many chances to live a full and better life by way of shedding our skin and changing our ways to work toward a more positive future. 

But the question is, are you staying stagnant like a swampy pond? Or are you changing like a stream in spring?

• Reflection title: Evolve or Die
• Creative inspiration: Friedrich Nietzsche, The Dawn of Day
• Reflection Question: Am I stagnant like a still pond, or am I growing and changing like a spring stream? In what ways will I grow today? In what ways will I change? 

January: On Existence 

January 23

Today's reflection was inspired by another instrumental song: "Travelers" by Andrew Prahlow for the video game Outer Wilds. 

You are but a traveler,  moving through the journey of life from birth to death. 

You begin small, quiet, unsure, but as you grow and journey onward, you become louder and your melody travels to the ears of others where by some it will be welcomed, and by some it will be rejected.

Yet it exists as uniquely you.

You move on, and on, and on, until at last your song becomes faint once more and there is silence once again.

• Reflection title: We Are But Travelers
• Creative inspiration: "Travelers," Andrew Prahlow, Outer Wilds 
• Reflection Question: I am nothing more than a traveler, passing through this life. A tourist in a foreign land. How will I make the most of my time here?

January: On Existence 

January 22

Inspiration for today's reflection comes from Mary Shelley's novel The Last Man.

What they don’t tell you before signing up for this wild adventure of existence is that near most every day you will be encumbered with the irrationality and intensity of love and fear.

We will go to extremes to protect those we love from harm--doing whatever it takes. No labor too great and no scheme too wild.

We must also acknowledge and accept the fact that to love someone means that we will eventually lose them. And that it is the very fact that you will one day lose those you hold dear--somehow, someway--that intensifies your love, that offers you the chance to be grateful for every day, hour, minute, and second that you get to spend here with them.

• Reflection title: No Labor Too Great, No Scheme Too Wild
• Creative inspiration: Mary Shelley, The Last Man
• Reflection Question: Who are the idols of my soul? How will I put my fear aside to better love them today, knowing full well that we are not promised the same chance tomorrow?