Would You Live, or Read About Living?

Metaphorical Narrative

Imagine standing in front of a massive library. Each book is a volume about you — moments catalogued, arguments stored, every embarrassing stumble annotated with footnotes. Ego stands there flipping pages frantically, insisting, “See? Everything is already written. Better check before you act.”

Meanwhile, a door stands wide open just beyond the shelves. Outside, life is happening raw and unscripted. The wind doesn’t care about the library index. The sunlight doesn’t cross-reference page numbers. The question hangs in the air: would you rather keep reading about your life, or step outside and live it?

Core Insight

Ego behaves like a Wikipedia editor of your personal history. It collects signals, events, and opinions, and turns them into a searchable archive. The problem? It tricks you into thinking consulting the archive is necessary before you move.

This is why the Default Mode Network rehearses tomorrow: it pulls up “draft articles” on what might happen, hoping to avoid exposure or humiliation. But this endless referencing is not preparation — it’s avoidance.

“I” is the living present. It doesn’t need to flip pages to act. Presence is a distinct state: immediate, sensory, grounded. The real safety lies in adaptability here and now, not in an encyclopedia of recycled fears.

Saturday Experiment

1. Notice when ego starts “reading”: the background rehearsal, the what-if loops, the archive flipping open.
2. Interrupt gently with the phrase: “This is a page, not reality.”
3. Step outside — literally if possible. Touch the present with one sensory act (feel a texture, hear a sound, smell the air).

Sunday Reflection

Journal in third person:

• When did the character spend today “reading pages” instead of living?
• What moment of presence showed them the door out of the library?
• How would their life look if presence became the new reference point instead of ego’s encyclopedia?