There’s a judge-y little organism that’s perched in some high up corner of my mind.
It’ll hiss the nonsense, invisible rules we’ve collected over the years: don’t play music out loud. Don’t show that you love something too earnestly lest you be “too much”. You can’t do x/y/z because, while there is plenty of time to do x/y/z, there isn’t enough time somehow. Don’t try to make anything unless you can make it perfectly because it’d be a waste of materials otherwise. So on.
The beast is at best annoying and at worse stifling. All over motions that in the grand scheme of things are inconsequential to act upon, yet heeding to the inaction it demands is. Its a breeding ground for stagnation in all aspects of life.
And this is not a unique hindrance to deal with either. This thing thrives in the minds that exist in a culture like ours.
I’ve put a greater effort in snuffing this beast in late. The ritual I’m practicing to quell it is pretty straight forward:
1. Compile these invisible rules into a short list. Keep it somewhere easy to reference back to. Optional: order rules on what irks the judge-beast the most to least.
2. Intentionally break one rule a day at minimum.
At first the beast will pitch its fit that makes the bones freeze in place, but with every attempt it’ll tire, and overtime it’ll relent. For me, I know it’s collected these rules and tries to enforce them out of fear; an animal trying to protect itself and its host. The repeated exposure desensitizes the beast, shows it that its wasting energy over nothing, and exercises the muscle that’s ok with making little transgressions.
Listening to: Between two worlds by Infinity Frequencies
Reading: This is (Not) an Artifact by Rich Pell
Phase: Last Quarter
Weather: Cloudy, warm, and damp