Oh man

By conventional belief, poisonous berries are "natural", and air conditioning is "artificial". If "natural" then means inherent merit, we ought turn off the AC and poison ourselves. I think real explanations of merit are always in order.

There is something to be said for working with your biology for physical and mental health, and a lot of that biology has evolved around "natural" things in the world (like sunlight and fresh air). This goes hand in hand with being kind to the biology of the planet itself. I think a good sentiment starts here, but it gets pretty easily exploited... especially when the needs of biological things is an ongoing field of research, and people love to ignore science and lie.

- it’s fun to be awake & in an upright position

- consciousness is a gift

At the end of the day, it's gotta be better to choose the more joyful option overall, even if someone will judge you too harshly. Especially because, the fear of others' scrutiny tends to develop into your our own internal scrutiny, ultimately perpetuating the cycle that gave us our dumb fears. It just imprisons everyone indefinitely, and makes everyone sad.

Word for today: wisdom of repugnance

You've probably obtained some very good opinions via simply feeling put off, and then being correct on closer analysis. But that makes this experience the perfect trojan horse, doesn't it?

It is already VERY appealing to have your negative emotions AND self image validated, and then it feels trustworthy because it has worked out before. Plus, who doesn't want to go ahead and have a strong opinion? They're easier than confusion, and they make you feel like a strong person.

You just have to be really cautious with disgust, and arguments that make you feel great over it. A good mental rule of thumb is this:

If you earnestly know very little about something, or only "know" it through negative viewpoints, that is not much to form a fair perspective. You can have an inclination, but be cautious about cementing an aggressive position, and be open to learning more.

Ideally, you want to earnestly be able to say "I know a lot about [thing], and that's how I formed my opinion". You could STILL be wrong at this point, so it's the LEAST you can do to form a strong position. It's sketchy when the people you disagree with know a lot more than you.