We live most of our lives half-asleep to the obvious. Not because we’re dumb, but because remembering these truths all the time would probably make us combust. So here’s a little reminder of the properties that sit in the background, the ones we forget, ignore, or try to deny.

Contradiction is natural

We act like contradictions mean hypocrisy. They don’t. They mean human. Wanting to grind but also rest. Wanting solitude but also love. The clash itself is the system working. To write this list is already a contradiction — trying to pin down what by nature refuses to be pinned.

The body thinks too

Brains get all the spotlight, but muscles, gut, and breath are doing half the heavy lifting. Your stomach has a nervous system of its own. Your posture changes your mood. A run can solve a problem your “rational” brain couldn’t. The body isn’t just hardware. It’s co-author.

Forgetting is functional

We treat forgetting as a bug. It’s not. It’s the cleanup crew. The brain burns the junk to make space. Sometimes it torches something we swore was important — and that hurts. But forgetting is the price of moving forward. Memory is selective for a reason.

Obsession is a feature

Call it obsession, tunnel vision, mania. It’s how we actually learn. Nobody ever mastered anything by staying “balanced” all the time. Falling into the rabbit hole is not dysfunction — it’s how mastery is carved.

The self is fluid

We cling to identities like they’re bedrock. They’re not. Self is clay. You are not one story. You are drafts upon drafts, edits upon edits. Reinvention is baked into the design.

Rest is not laziness

Stillness is not a sin. Naps are not moral failure. Boredom is not wasted time. These are maintenance cycles — like turning the system off to cool the circuits. Ignore this and you don’t become more productive, you just break.

The social need

Even the lone wolves crave an echo. We tell ourselves we don’t need others, but mirrors are built into us. Recognition, witness, connection — these aren’t “nice to haves.” They’re survival.

We forget these things because we want to be gods of control. Instead, we’re messy paradox machines, bodies that think, minds that forget, selves that bend. Maybe remembering that is enough.