8/27

We cannot speak the truth; we can only speak of it.

We cannot bestow ourselves with the confidence to speak as if we knew the truth exactly for what it was. Every statement we make is but a small component constituting a greater truth, and we should go about our lives and speak to one another as if we’re building something together—not as if it’s already built.

8/26

Do we truly believe we can go about life with neither suffering nor mistakes? Do we expect to better ourselves as human beings without them? Then why are we shocked when they present themselves to us?

The emergence of suffering or a mistake is merely a signpost, a reminder for us that it’s time to learn once again. Why should we be disappointed by an opportunity—no, the sole way that we become a better person than we were yesterday?

8/25

Our circumstances do not make us free.

Freedom only exists when your mind decides to free itself.

8/24

It may seem just like any other day, but, if we take the time to see beyond the confines of our perception—to fight our predisposition to draw trends and assign narratives—the reality is that no day happens precisely like the last, and no person is the same person today as they were yesterday. The atoms and molecules, the unceasing chain of actions and consequences, will never align in the same way ever again.

This is all the more true if we believe we can make a difference. And if we believe we can be changed.

8/23

Constantly remember how you were when you were overwhelmed by negative emotion, how you were in moments of peace or happiness, and how shockingly minimal agency you had in those moments.

There's far too much important work to be done in this life to depend on our fickle, capricious, and wayward emotions. The moment we can break free, we should. It is selfish to do otherwise.

8/22

Never forget that every minute of inaction, of mindlessness, of apathy, is an opportunity wasted.

Never forget what you were meant to do. And what you can do.

8/20

At what point does regret and shame shift from an impetus to do things better or differently, to merely weighing down our soul, to oppressing our conscience, to distorting reason and clarity of mind?

Are we truly so vigilant to control these emotions before they destroy our lives here in this present moment? Can we truly be so careless? When there’s so much to be done, so many people that depend on us, and an ever-diminishing amount of time?

8/18

"Just look up, break down, and believe."

—Cary Brothers, The Glass Parade

8/17

Do we actually seek for others to understand us with straightforwardness and clarity?

If so, why do we arouse their emotions, the very thing that ultimately obstructs our pathway towards a greater truth?

8/16

There is truth that is found when we search for it,

And there is truth that is found precisely when we don’t.