My wife looked at the statue and said it reminded her of me.

“How,” I asked? “In his noble strength against his constraints? In his righteous fury in response to his captivity? In his perfect form against a perfect prison that can redistribute his force as he pushes, yet still he fights on?”

“No,” she said. “In that if he relaxed his grip, and stepped forward, he’d be free.”

(I took this photo on Vigeland’s bridge)

When I was younger, I worried what other people thought of me.

As I grew older, I stopped worrying what other people thought of me.

As I grew older still, I realized other people don’t think about me.

As I grew older still, I realized I should think about other people.

Is this it?
Is it this?

It is this.
This is it.

Absorption
Obsession
Indulgence
Gratification
Loathing
Pity
Destruction
Fishness

In the early days, when communities were the only way to survive, religion was the opiate of the masses.

As time progressed, and the family rather than the community became ascendant, television became the opiate of the masses.

As the individual became ascendant, the Internet became the opiate of the masses.

And today, as individuals are lost, opiates are becoming the opiate of the masses.

The evidence suggests that humans require opiates — perhaps, together, we should choose a different kind than the one we use now?