People as Chores

Metaphorical Narrative

Imagine a to-do list that grows longer each day. At the top, instead of “pay bills” or “buy groceries,” it says “call mother,” “see friend,” “text partner.” Relationships have been converted into errands. Each interaction feels like a box to tick, not a bond to nourish. Ego has turned people into chores.

Core Insight

When ego measures life by productivity, relationships become transactions. The joy of presence is replaced by the pressure of obligation. Calls are rushed, conversations skimmed, and time together feels like another demand on energy rather than a source of renewal.

In practice, this shows up as sighing before calling a loved one, multitasking during quality time, or feeling drained by connection instead of fed by it. The cost is intimacy: bonds weaken when they are treated as duties.

Spotting cue: when you catch yourself saying “I should call” more often than “I want to call,” ego has likely turned the relationship into a task.

Identity Shift Tie-In

Observer Mode shifts the frame: people are not tasks, they are living mirrors. Sovereignty means choosing presence instead of obligation. By rehumanizing relationships, you trade the weight of duty for the nourishment of connection.

Saturday Experiment

1. Choose one person to connect with today.
2. Before reaching out, pause. Ask: “What would make this moment nourishing for both of us?”
3. Act on that impulse, even if small.

Sunday Reflection

Journal in third person: “They realized how often people felt like chores. But when they shifted to presence, the list dissolved — connection became energy, not obligation.”