We aren’t on social media and I try not to read much outside of books and the occasional documentary, but the content I do see always seems the same: people love to complain.

From where does the arrogance arise to think the challenges in our lives are any worse than people who lived before us? Condescension like this seems baked into almost all online commentary. Can you even imagine the problems that existed 1000 years ago? That’s a trick question because of course you can’t. Despite what we think, we have it pretty easy: no strife, no war or pestilence, and everyone is affluent.

Our issues compared absolutely can’t possibly be any worse than before — yet relative to each of us, I think they are. The advances that triumphed over old woes continue unabated, and now they make us anxious and often weak. Whether new or old, technology has that affect.

Except perhaps for the voluntary publication, my stress is no different than yours: the habits of my younger self have left me memories and routines that don’t serve me and I no longer want them; many things in my life are complicated; I have too much stuff; time dwindles and I don’t want the administration of it all.

Not that these issues when compared against something like the Plague are all that important, but they concern me and the manner in which I live so I must act.

And life should be well-considered: the only way to move forward is to look at past methods and employ them. What can I control? Which are there stressors I’ve caused myself and should I change? These are not new questions.

We need some kind of relationship to the experience itself because there is an equilibrium to learning from it. Finding a balance between ambition and living is crucial: what can I remove from life, and how far do I go in the analysis? Perhaps just asking the question is enough of a start.

Unfortunately even that is a question for me now. How meta.