Consciousness Is A Gift But It Is Has Tricked Us Into Thinking That We Can Simply Will Ourselves Into

consciousness is a gift but it is has tricked us into thinking that we can simply will ourselves into higher or otherwise more improved versions of our person through endless introspection. all other creatures in the animal kingdom recognize that change only comes from action…..when a lizard feels sick, they’ll lay in the sun because they know sunlight manufactures much needed nutrients. there is very limited action -> reaction in the darkness of your skull unless it’s in some way informed by the things happening around you, and “growth” being isolated in this way can only serve to endlessly recontextualize thoughts, memories and feelings to the point where they are rendered irrelevant to the reality they were based in. I wrote this paragraph largely just to deliver that lizard fact.

“I don’t have to attend every argument I’m invited to.”

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Dorothy Parker

Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar