Children

Children are, simultaneously, both our future and our past. They are who we used to be and who we will rely on in the future. Remember back to when you were a child. Remember how you thought about things with such wonderment and outlandish ideas. When do we lose that? When do we become people of solitary thought? We must do outroutr best to keep our child-like creativity throuout life. I remember that when I was very very young, I created a character. It was an alien meant to be a supervillain. I pictured him 20ft tall with the following distinctive factors: a right arm comprised entirely of flames, a left arm made entirely of water, a right leg made of the ground itself, a left leg composed of twisting branches, a torso of solid metal, and finally a jock-o-lantern head to top it all. I named this character "Jinkaju," and I was proud of him. As obsurd as the idea was, and is, one must look again through the eyes of a child to fully appreciate his beauty. Children have such unique ways of thinking. Can I tell you a secret? No matter how embarrased I act whenever someone brings up the almighty Jinkaju, I am still proud of him, but in a different way. His arm of flame lit the path to my further ointerest in writing and he hard continued with his ever-smiling carved face to guide me through my creative endeavors. But for now, here is something to consider.

The first recorded war was between the Sumerians and the Elemites in 2700 B.C. 

Sincerely, Liktomph

Books

Books are the collections of peices of paper made from the remnants of nature itself. They are collections of knowledge and stories and any other various things of intrigue. They have been the only transition between stone tablets and the digital interface that you are currently examining. They have been the basis of all information for centuries. How many books have passed through your eyes from the moment you learned to read? What will be the last thing you ever read? Cherish those oh so sacred bundles of prose. I know that I will cherish the one that I am currently exploring. But for now, here is something to consider.

Everyone you have ever seen was once a child. All of your family members, and the celebrities you have ever appreciated, or not. All of your teachers and bosses. All of them were once children.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Siblings

I know that you may not have a sibling. I know that I most certainly haven't until reletively recently. Regardless, I can still arrest to their importance. At first glance familial bonds such as those may seem normal. After a while of thinking they seem strange. After even longer they seem necessary. It doesn't always matter how things seem. Most things simply are, whether we analyze them or not. We form such close connection with others simply because they we generated from the same seed or hatched from the same egg, usually both. And yet, where would we be without some semblance of family? What alterior personalities would be shaped? Who would we become as people? I hope that you never need to find out. But for now, here is something to consider.

129,846,880 books have been published to date.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Lies

Why is it that we lie? You know that you've done it just as I know the same of myself. It seems that it may be part of what makes us human. The simple falsehood created in the electricity of our brains translated into the vibration of vocal chords to be translated back into electricity, but in another area of the same organ. There are way to be deceptive without lying just ad there are ways to lie without being deceptive. Though the latter can only happen if both parties have knowledge of the truth, have knowledge that the other has knowledge of the truth, and if the lie is uttered in a humorous manner. I have yet to delve into the truth of the matter. I notice myself dancing around it by way of describing the processes that you could see for yourself iuf you thought for but a moment. People will lie for any number of reasons. Sometimes they will be doing it to protect themselves. Sometimes they do it to protect others. Sometimes they do it to hide from themselves what even they don't want to believe. I don't think I have been deceptive to you since I started this blog. I hope the trend continues. But for now, here is something to consider.

Regardless of whether you believe in one religion or another,
evolution, any combination of the two, or even if you simply do the math, every person on the planet is related to one another.

Relaxation

First, let me apologise for my brief leave of absence. I will not say that I was busy or overburdened. I wasn't. I was enjoying time with those around me with whom I have formed a bond. It is something very important to me for reasons that I will leave for another post. Now, I can dive into the topic I had planned for the day with a clear conscience. People are often burdened by all of the problems around them. These problems should not be ignored and should be dealt with in due diligence, but it does no good either to the solution to the problem or to yourself to stress over it. Work at it. Make it better. Don't tear your hair out in righteous frustration and fear. I don't know the chemistry or electricity of either stress or relaxation, I only know the effects of both on human life from my personal experience through which only I have seen. When you worry too much you are fdoomed to failure, as your emotions will cloud your mind and prevent thought. However, too much relaxation is also bad, as it can lead to the issue never being properly dealt with. I have both been the cause and felt the effect of both ends. As with everything, balance is key. Balance is always key. I hope you remember that for the rest of your life. But for now, here is something to consider.

From the moment we are first able to cry, we lie to those around us, for often even at that age, we fake emotion to fill a need.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Eye

The human eye is wonderfully complex, or any eye for that matter. It refracts the wave/particle that is light into electricity perceived by your brain. Your entire perception is based upon the image that your brain creates which is based upon the light that your eye collects. Your eye is so important to your entire life but once again we never think about them. The eye can see many things but without a mirror it cannot see itself. Without an instrument to aid us we can not see more than parts of ourselves. So therefore, we rely on the perception of others to understand ourselves. Sometimes this is helpful and sometimes this is not. Sometimes this causes us to lose ourselves. Never lose yourself. Please promise me that. Please promise me that you will continue to be yourself, even if you have flaws, as long as you remain good to others. You need to make sure that you stay yourself for as long as you live. But for now, here is something to consider.

There will always be trouble in your life. There will always be one problem or another. Occasionally relaxation is the best option.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Perspective

Imagine, just for a moment, that you woke up literally seeing out of another person's eyes. Imagine that you moved their body, and thought with their mind, and saw their face in the mirror. What would your reaction be? Imagine going through their entire day, and living their life. How different would it be to be another person? What would it be like to literally walk in the shoes of another? Even if you were to return to your former self the very next morning, the experience would be enlightening. It would almost shatter your entire perception of reality. Then again, perhaps it wouldn't seem real enough to make a difference. Who are we to condone or condemn the actions of another when we have never lived their lives. We don't have their experiences, their personalities, their emotions or their thoughts. We can only see them as an outside observer. Just as they don't know anything about you that you don't show them. Maybe one day we will all be a bit more open with each other. But for now, here is something to consider.

You have a blind spot in each of your eyes that you never notice because your brain filters it out.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Light

Our entire perception of the world relies on these photons which are created by the masses of hydrogen and helium that surround us, or the artificial sources we create for ourselves out of glass and wire, or even simple fire made by the reaction of chemicals. Light is everywhere. Even when we close our eyes we are not completely cut from it. It is our main source of perception. Without perception, what do we truly have? How could we live bumbling through complete darkness? Where would we be without a light to guide us? Maybe that's why we put so much importance in it. None of us really know what to do. Maybe we find solace that something out there does. Maybe we feel that knowledge of the future, even a potentially bad one, especially a good one, is better than complete unknown. But fpor now, here is something to consider. 

You have never experienced life as a completely separate person. You have only ever been you.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Fear

Fear, I'm it's very essence can, in most cases, only be irrational in the world in which we live at this point in time. It is created by the adreanal gland and the amygdala combine to form the fear and adrenelene responses caused when we are afraid. It is simply chemicals in the mind. It is electricity in the brain. But in the moment, you are never fully able to comprehend this fact. Instead, the emotions overwhelm you. There doesn't have to be danger for there to be fear. Fear doesn't need to be of danger. We all have our own fears. We all have hypothetical events that, if they came to fruition, would break us down from the inside. We all have our fears. Even you. Even me. Especially me. I live in constant fear and worry, not of any danger, but of one hypothetical event that, if it came to fruition, would break me. Most people fear things because of events that happened previously in their lives. What are you afraid of? What dark scenario do you hold in the very core of your being? Have you even discovered it yet? I sincerely hope that you never have to experience it. I hope that you are able to live a life filled with mostly pleasant emotions. I hope you only feel fear when you want to. But for now, here is something to consider.

Light travels fast enough to circle the earth over six times in one second, but it still takes it four years to reach the nearest star.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Nostalgia

Memories are all we have to be able to observe our personal pasts, and the feelings those memories bring can be quite powerful. Each person has their own past. Each person has their own things that make them feel nostalgia. Personally, I didn't have much of a childhood, but even I have my own personal nostalgias. One video game in particular causes great nostalgia within me as I spent the great majority of my time playing it. I wonder what makes you feel nostalgic. What is nostalgia? Obviously it is the emotion felt when a particular object or art form brings a pleasant memory alongside it, but what purpose does it serve? Is it meant to bring back information long forgotten from the breaches of our mind? Is it meant to reactivate old neurons to keep them active? I truly have no idea. There are many things that I don't know. I am an ordinary person after all. None of us know everything there is to know. It is absolutely certain that you know something that I don't. It is also certain that I know something that you don't. Perhaps one day you will look on these posts with nostalgia. It is certain that I will. But for now, here is something to consider.

There are over 400 phobias recognized by psychologists.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Time

Time can be considered a construct of our own collective imaginations. It can only be measured by the movement of other things. The rotation and orbit of the earth are the most prominent, but then we divide those, the most easily found points of reference into sections that we can more easily consume. But then, without time, where would we be as a species. We would not ever be able to coordinate our actions. We would always be trying to find each other. We could only do things within the realm of our immediate group. Time is very important to us. Without it we would not be able to function as a society. How is it that something that is such a construct of our minds seems so real? Be sure and find time to interact with those around you, or set a time to meet with those you care for. But for now, here is something to consider

All of your memories have been affected in one way or another, simply in the act of being remembered.

Sincerely, Liktomph.

Home

Our home is typically the location within space in which we live, however it has the potential to mean quite a bit more. You can be without a house and still have a home. They aren't just shelters form weather, and places for our possessions. They are the place in which we as people feel safe. They are where we feel it would be alright to lay our heads down and sleep. There are people who are unfortunately without homes. These people are there, in most cases, through no fault of their own. Imagine this scenario. You have fallen on hard times. There is no money left in whatever savings you might have had, and you have lost all of your family members either to death, or to abandonment. You are let go from work, not through not working hard enough or insulting one person or another, but simply because the company itself is failing. You are left to your one room apartment, all you had left to afford. You try to apply for jobs but you had to give up your car to have a place to sleep at night, and you can only get to interviews by getting up exceptionally early in the morning, and walking to them. You have no spare money for public transport. Your interviews go poorly due to your tiredness. Suddenly, your rent arrives and the last of your money was spent on ramen noodles. You find yourself on the street. After a few weeks of living in boxes, you are very dirty. Your clothes are torn. Those who might have otherwise helped you are afraid that you are diseased, or addicted to drugs. You are left alone, and starving as the rain forms mildew and mold on your clothes. Not everyone has a house. Not everyone has a home. It is important that we help people, especially those who have fallen onto some hard times from which they might never be able to escape. But for now, here is something to consider.

Our brains take time to process the information that we receive, meaning that at any moment, we are seeing things as they happened ever so slightly in the past.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Nature

These collections of cells that surround us contain so much beauty. Every tree, every leaf, every blade of grass filled with green. They breath life into us in quite a literal way. We often walk by without even thinking about it. They are living, breathing beings. Nature covers the earth and it is alive. And it isn't only limited to plants. All of the animals hopping about in the forest are part of nature. What is nature? Is it merely the collection of sounds that we have chosen to mean a collection of life? If so, then are cities a part of nature? Where is the linme between nature and not nature? Isn't everything a part of some larger definition? Or are all of the atoms spread to far apart? How do we fit into the world? Or are we simply ice cubes floating in an ocean, unimportant and soon to disappear. What is the full extent of nature? We need to take care of it, in any case, that much is obvious. But for now, here is something to consider.

It was estimated in 2015 that 1.6 million people live in "inadequate shelter" worldwide. 

Sincerely, Liktomph

The Internet

The internet doesn't exist in of itself. It's simply easier to think of it as some sort of virtual world. It is only computers sending messages to each other. Message upon message of countless information. This post will be uploaded to a server which will then be transferred temporarily to any computer that accesses it. It all seems so real doesn't it? Why is it that it's so easy to think of it as if it's floating above our heads? All it is the transfer of information. But it has so much more meaning. It allows contact everywhere in the world. If someone so wished and had the preceding knowledge of it, one could find this blog from Brazil, or India, or South Africa. We use it almost constantly without even thinking about it. So much so that it has become a separate entity. It's interesting how the use of something can make it come to life. But for now, I leave you with something to consider.

If all the humans on earth suddenly died, the planet would flourish, however, if all of the insects suddenly died, it would become a barren wasteland.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Emotions

Emotions are the center point of our entire experience as human beings. They are the way we discern one experience from another. They are so crucial to our sense of selves, that the thought of living without them generates an emotion in of itself, fear. At least that seems to be my experience. I am not without emotion. After all, I am an ordinary person. Sometimes we seem to forget about the emotions of others. Sometimes we think that it's better to conceal them as opposed to sharing them. I do not see the purpose in this. We have to remember that we are people. People have emotion, and it is alright for those emotions to be present. Both the positive and the negative are important to our collective sense of self. Why do people hide their emotions? Do they think that it will make people like them more? Do they think that is something that is healthy for themselves? So they think that hiding them makes them disappear? Do they feel that they are protecting others? I'm honestly unsure. In some cases, it is difficult for me to even comprehend my own emotions, much less decipher the myriad of ever so slight changes in facial expression and body language that form the external change formed by concealed emotions. It is even more difficult through text. I am going to do my best to share more than just my thoughts with you. I am going to try to show my emotion as well. I may not always succeed. There are chemicals associated with our emotions. Little gatherings of proteins generated by our brains can make us feel one way or another. It is very easy to forget that while you're in the midst of feeling them. I can tell you from first-hand experience that this piece of knowledge, in particular, doesn't make the emotions feel any less real. It doesn't distance you from them. It just gives you an opportunity to distance yourself from the emotions of others. Their emotions are also, no less real. It is easy to forget that when you're in the midst of feeling emotions of your own. Be connected. Be empathetic. Do your best to find a situation in which your emotions and the emotions of others coincide. This is the path to the understanding of the people around you. Listen to them. Hang on to their every word if you ever want them to truly believe that you care. The emotion of trust is not gained through the vibration of your vocal chords. It is not gained through language. It is gained from perceiving the electrons firing within your brain, caused by the reception of vibration, the translation of movement, to energy. It is alright to express your own emotions as well. It is better for you to express your emotions as well. But in order to reach understanding, you must listen first, then speak, and hope that they have chosen not to conceal anything. But for now, I leave you with something to consider.

The internet was created by scientists who only ever meant to use it for transferring research quickly.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Nations

We often seem to divide this ball of water and rock into imaginary lines. What's more, we define ourselves and our points of view according to these arbitrary and dividing lines. We often seem to feel that those across those lines which we created are lesser than ourselves, or at least that seems to be the train of thought in my particular region. Patriotism is considered a hallowed virtue, though all it really means is that you think that the imaginary lines that we have all agreed upon are in your favor when in fact they really don't exist at all. Who are we to separate ourselves from our fellow human beings? I understand that it would be very unlikely for all of us to get along without them, though even with them we don't seem to have much peace. Has there ever been a moment on Earth since the development of humanity without war? Has there ever been one single moment where all of the "nations" that we consider so important were all aligned with each other? It seems quite unlikely. It seems to me that there's always one more argument, one more resource, one more group of people attacking others for what they choose to believe. We all have a right to our minds. We are all allowed to think as we please, no matter how much that might anger a spare few in positions of high authority. What is the purpose of war? What can death and destruction correct that simple diplomacy cannot? Perhaps there are those who simply refuse to listen to reason. Those people exist on both sides of any conflict. How many things aren't we seeing clearly due to the victors writing the textbook? How glorified is Rome that we cannot see its flaws? How many newer examples follow the same logic? Would we believe Hitler to be correct if he had won? Or would we see through the farce? To truly understand a situation, one must separate themselves from it, but in doing so they also separate themselves from the experience. So this is the choice one must make. Do you want the truth, or do you want to live your life? This is a question which must be considered at every opportunity. But for now, I leave you with something to consider. 

Chocolate releases chemicals that reduce pain, lessen stress and work as anti-depressants. 

Sincerely, Liktomph

Language

What is language? How have we managed to correlate the vibrations we are able to make in our throats to physical objects, or even more than that, ideas that are beyond our grasp? At what point was the first word spoken? What was it meant to say? Before then did we hold up the collections of cells that form the appendages which we use to take control of other things? Or did we use those appendages to pick up whatever was nearby and draw in the dirt? How have we gone from there to being able to express such concepts as the bending of space created by black holes? Imagine all the stories we have ever told. Imagine all the lies we have ever spoken. Imagine every sound created by every sparse breath, across the entire existence of our species. Imagine all the words that you will never understand. And yet we use it like it is nothing. We throw it around like a toy to be mindlessly played with. I suppose that it is to some extent. But it is not only a toy. It is a tool to be used to convey every thought we might ever be able to have. It is something extraordinary that we have carefully crafted time and time again. Who was the first to express love for another through this tool, this tool which I am now using a silent form of? We as people could not exist without language. Picture everything that you have ever said. How much meaning can be carried by a tool designed to do just that? Think before you speak. Appreciate the importance of what you and everyone else has been given. Take the opportunity to transfer meaning to someone important to you. But for now, I leave you with something to consider.

At any time, there is always a set of two points on opposite sides of the planet with the exact same temperature.

Sincerely, Liktomph

Welcome

This is the beginning of a journey I suppose. I will be posting my thoughts, my outlooks, my very sense of self on this website. Sending my thoughts as they come. Sending them by transforming those electrical impulses in the mass of flesh that composes my brain, and turning it into motion. A calm and methodical motion hitting seemingly random plastic coverings which then transform that motion back into electrical impulses. These new electrical impulses sent across the world to every computer just waiting to be accessed and transformed into light through a digital screen. A light which when dispersed by your eyes transforms for the final time back into electrical impulses which you then comprehend as coherent speech. Things are often much more complex than we realize them to be at first glance. But of course, you can't look at the world that way constantly, or else you would experience minor levels of disconnectedness. It is important for us as human beings that we remain connected. It is important that we make friends, and find love, no matter how many attempts it might take. Then again, there are simply those who simply do not wish that outcome for themselves. There are those people who are content to sit and do whatever they please alone. Humans are social creatures. We could not bear years without any interaction. Even if it is only interaction in the form of light from a screen, transformed into electrical impulses. I hope that is not your only form of interaction. I will be pouring myself into this blog. This collection of letters which form words which form sentences will hopefully form meaning. I cannot promise that I will talk to you daily, but I can say that I will do my best. But for now, I leave you with something to consider.

The shortest sentence possible in the English language is "I am."

Sincerely, Liktomph