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