The Everyday Human

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 19 Two knights trek through the fields side by side in search of the lost kingdom of legend until their path comes to a fork. In one direction lies flat land as far as the eye can see, and in the other, a gently sloping hill and a larger hill after that and possibly mountains beyond and then . . . one may never know.  The first knight says to the se...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 18 O the plague of doubt!  How it afflicts us all. Most of us all. There are some certain solipsistic narcissists out there, I’m sure, who aren’t quite human because their tongues have never tasted the bitterness of self, universal, or existential doubt. If you are sure you’ve never experienced any such doubts, then that is you. Stop here. I have no...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 17 Fear is a universal and unavoidable part of what makes us who we are. But it can also be unique to you based on your upbringing, environment, culture, traumas, and heartaches suffered. It’s easy to stand brave in the face of something you do not fear while another cowers. If you find yourself in this situation, do not belittle that person or down...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 16 My Dear Human, In my time trapped within this book, which at this point I’ve lost track of the hours and days and months and years, I’ve come to wonder on and contemplate fear, among many other things. For the purposes of this letter, I’ve come bearing but a few select ponderings and questions around the subject of fear itself that have sprouted...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 15 There is no longer a choice. You have but one direction to take, and that is forward. And with this clear and certain path laid out before you comes the absence of freedom. This can be terrifying. You are no longer in control. You do not know what lies ahead and you will have no choice but to face it when it is time. Though, on the other hand, th...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 14 If you are afraid Of being found out Don’t be that Which you fear They'll find Reflection title: Be Hole-Proof Creative inspiration: Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage Reflection question: Am I afraid of being exposed for something? How can I be the opposite of what it is I fear being exposed as?

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 13 He puts his hand on your shoulder and nods, waiting for you to nod back—to acknowledge that he’s right and return to the status quo, where it’s safe and comfortable, because, he reminds you—why would you ever want to leave that? But as you turn, the knife enters your back—you can barely feel it go in before you fall to your knees. Betrayed once a...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 12 The band Neck Deep has a line in their song “Sonderland” that goes like this: The story of a generation so dead set on novelty / but some honesty now and then would be quite nice. And I can’t help but agree—I think what we all crave and need is less performance, less judging, less sensitivity and defensiveness, and more genuine honesty.  Even now...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 11 Another gray day in The City under gray clouds, but it doesn’t mean anything to Koni since it’s all she’s ever known—having been born into a dead world and having never seen the sun. On her way home from a milk stop with the single jug under her arm she stops at a corner to let an elder’s carriage cross. The old man sitting atop his red chair bei...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 10 Does it have to be like this, though? That’s rather sad for it.  It does not. And it is. Then how do we fix the situation? By understanding there is no space between it and Hope and Love, rather the three are connected and inseparable. They each rely on one another to exist. Now, pay attention. Hope is the other side of Fear. And Fear is built in...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 9 I kept thinking and thinking, and that was about all I could come up with. And as I thought more on these reasons, they started to fall apart—at least until I reached my first reason: not being able to be here to love, protect, and support my family. The others, though? When you’re gone—will you really have the chance to miss them? Does any of tha...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 8 We speak so much about facing our fears, don’t we? About standing up to them, giving them the stiff upper lip and all that. Hell, I have a whole month dedicated to courage in this very book. But the truth is—and call it harsh if you want to—some situations are unbeatable. Sometimes, there’s just no winning. But that’s part of being human. Fear , a...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 7 But stop and think of change for a moment. It’s not inherently bad. If a seed never underwent germination, you wouldn’t have plants and flowers and fruit. If a caterpillar never underwent metamorphosis, you wouldn’t have butterflies. If your body didn’t undergo stress in running or working out, you wouldn’t be able to complete a marathon or lift h...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 6 Fear is a powerful thing and it can teach us great lessons about ourselves. But do not respect it more than your own needs for language and definition. Stand before it and listen to it, taking from it what you need, and when you are ready, speak your command and banish it back into the shadows before it even has a chance to think about choking you...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 5 “Ah, the great myth and legend.” “Do no such times exist?” “Depends on where you stand and what you see,” she says. Takes a moment, another sip. “Even then, there’s war to be found in a field of flowers among the ants and bees and peace and calm to be found in a field of battle among soldiers in prayer and meditation.” “So it depends on where I st...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 4 And then to push it further beneath that gray and somber cloud, I look at the world around me and see just how divided we’ve become, but then I stop and remind myself that we’ve probably always been this divided because of the nature of labels and masks and borders and beliefs being applied to territorial animals who’ve developed a habit for walki...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 3 Packing day is a ways off. By the calendar Fox keeps in his mind, he has about a month or so before the day is upon him. (He’d tried the paper calendars and planners, but they just wouldn’t stick. He doesn’t have the personality for it—so he tells himself.) As the days tick by, he sees more and more of his neighbors leaving. There goes Badger and...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 2 It is after these moments of fear from your brush with Death, when your heart is beating and your breath is rapid, and perhaps when you wear a near-manic smile on your face at the fact that you just skid off a snowy road into a ditch and totaled your car yet survived without a scratch, or near fell off a cliff in another country, or survived a fal...

October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 1 But this fear of failure, and really most other fears that might float through my mind on a given day are created by me—by my mind alone. They come from nowhere and no one else. These fears, if I let them, will back me into that corner. They will take control, freezing me into a creative or personal decision-making paralysis. Because I’m safe from...

September: On Friendship and Connection September 30 Let it all go and relish in knowing your presence is a comfort. Relish your moments of happiness walking in the woods with a loved one, giving and receiving gifts, laughing, crying, smiling, and talking together . . . the moments of holding one another, because that might be it. That might be the whole reason for everything. Reflection title: Th...

September: On Friendship and Connection September 29 If you find yourself mistrusting—there could very well be a valid reason for it, but perhaps more often than not, the mistrust stems from your own insecurities—something you need to confront before pinning the blame on an innocent party.  If you find yourself the subject of mistrust in a relationship, it’s best to refrain from becoming defensive...

September: On Friendship and Connection September 28 The pane splinters and breaks and shatters and the shards fly past them, cutting them, leaving large, gaping wounds that they think is the cause of the end. But the cracks were there all along, digging soft into them to the point they couldn’t feel that slowly, oh so very slowly the flowing blood of their friendship was leaking dry all along. A...

September: On Friendship and Connection September 27 A young boy living next door. A young girl playing blocks in preschool. An altar boy who rang the bells when I forgot. A new kid in class from the other side of the island. Another kid with brown hair who didn’t fit into any cliques in high school. A barista in a coffee shop. A kid with a BMX bike in the backyard. An expo in the chaotic kitchen...

September: On Friendship and Connection September 26 But you looked to your companion and said, “What do you think?” “Die here with him or go on looking for his paradise,” they said. You know it’s foolish to believe . To hold on to such a fragile thing as hope, but you nodded and the two of you continued on. You crest the hill the fool spoke of, but you’re already wary. There has been no change in...

September: On Friendship and Connection September 25 Any time I’d find myself uncomfortable in school, it’d pop into my head—a reminder that when I survived the day, I’d have Bowie, Jaha, Sarah, Peter, May, and the rest of the Shining Force to hang out and save the world with. I’d laugh with them, strategize, and get dead serious when it was time to take down King Galam and Zeon. It was a game, su...