If it weren't for me, I would not be a very nice person; (as it is, there are days...). It is true that there are many forces influencing my desire to be pleasant; from physical discomforts and ailments to dealing with difficult people and organizations to banalities such as the weather to some daily responsibilities and expectations to a plethora of other miscellaneous unplanned or unexpected annoyances and irritants. Like it or not, I am in many ways controlled by my environment. And (like it or not) there are many ways in which I can influence my environment, but (again, like it or not) to do so meaningfully requires work.

If it weren't for you I would never have realized that you care about me from a perspective (no matter the effort otherwise) of how I impact your environment; and I would never have realized that I care about you from a perspective (no matter the effort otherwise) of how you impact my environment. This is the nature of one's humanity. Please note that I did not say you 'only' care based on personal impact, or I 'only' care because it is all about me. Nonetheless we can only on occasion escape this mutual burden of personal humanity, and oftentimes we project this hardship onto others because we do not recognize it as personal baggage - it feels to me as if you should make the effort, and I am certain it feels to you as if the onus is on me. To meaningfully escape these narcissistic human tendencies requires a sense of introspective attentiveness and determined, incessant work.

Time is measured by passing events. When one speaks of wasting time, one is really saying that better choices could have or should have been made. Each one of us have certain actions or behaviors throughout our day that are regrettable in the sense that the outcomes are undesirable, inconsequential, or disappointing. Of course, the act of regret itself (once we have extracted the learning and growth) is regrettable. To make meaningful choices one must live in each moment, having learned from the past, with an eye to the future; this requires work.

Ninety percent of everything is crap. So to find the ten percent that is good, we must first wade through a lot of crap. To find something that is both good and cutting-edge is even rarer. This is why it is important to learn from history's greatest thinkers; those that have passed the test of time. That is not to say one should ignore new thinking; science is leaping and bounding (it seems) daily. There is considerably more than a Lifetime of information available to choose from, so how does one choose wisely? If one trusts their intuition, hones their crap-detecting skills, and keeps their head up to consider / explore diverging paths, there should be no wasted regret. To progress meaningfully in this manner requires diligent perseverance; (i.e. work).

There are many mundane tasks we accomplish with little thought; they seem automatic. There are some (paid) jobs that due to repetition, simplicity, or rules allow us to practice competence without meaningful comprehension. Sure, we may understand that we are 'part of the team' and that 'they' couldn't do it without us (and there is some truth here), but we often only understand what we are allowed to or what we choose to; we seldom see the big picture. Competence without comprehension is 'artificial intelligence' both literally and metaphorically. Competence with meaningful comprehension leading to a valuable contribution requires one to work.

Absolute determinism is possible, if you allow it. Those that claim 'nobody is ever responsible for anything they do' are correct, if we allow them to be. A herd mentality, unquestioning obedience, and oblivious ignorance will continue to nourish the egos of the powers that be, as long as the food supply remains plentiful. To meaningfully assert free will choices, in every potentially feasible circumstance, requires constant vigilance and hard work.

I will continue to work hard ...