AWM 2

¹Like all life, the human is tasked with navigating the physical universe from each moment to the next. ²And the human is remarkable, indeed, using its eyes and ears and thoughts to try to understand the universe where it lives. ³And these things work hard to combine to create the rich and vast experience of consciousness. ⁴So even though the human can only ever exist in the current moment, it lives gracefully, not just aware, but intelligent and curious, too. ⁵Belief, knowledge, intuition, memories, emotions, it has many names, but the human uses it to understand itself and to navigate its world. ⁶Like all truth, these things can only ever be personal, a part of the human, arising from the physical cells and neurons and feelings that make up the human. ⁷But they can change in time, as you discover new experiences and conquer more and more of what is possible in your world. ⁸Memories of yesterday, too, can only ever be part of your state, and dreams of tomorrow are only prayers. ⁹But these things can’t be a choice, because they simply are. ¹⁰So belief is not a choice, it is like your hands, useful indeed, but not a choice, only there, a small part of your truth. ¹¹For example, it is not that you ever choose to be convinced of an argument, or choose to see that the sky is blue, it simply happens, for one reason or another. ¹²And what you call knowledge might be more certain than what you call opinion or feeling, but these names are just approximations of various parts of your being. ¹³And sometimes knowledge is so innate and obvious that it is indistinguishable from universal truth, like the fact that you need water or that you would rather be happy than sad. ¹⁴But even still, these things are not truly certain, as the only truth is that of the moment. ¹⁵But that is not to say that choice doesn’t exist in this universe, because there is faith, and there is change. ¹⁶For if you hold yourself back, then you are bound, both by doubt and by the universe. ¹⁷But if you hold faith, then you are free, only bound by what is possible in this physical universe.