you are not controlling the storm, you are not lost in the storm. you are the storm.

sam harris-

with a new year comes new goals. ideas of how we are supposed to become or where we expect to be. imaginary images in the future of a healthier self, a more successful person or a perception of progress from where we are standing. not being where we are now we tell ourselves as we try to bend the idea and path that we are currently on. as we try to thwart a future that might as well be inevitable we find challenges and old habits getting in the way. it is nice to aim in a direction though, to have this sense that you are moving in a direction not only of your choosing but is it possible? can one change or does the world have to change one?

in china now a new zero policy has been implemented against marijuana. so no longer will that play a factor in those of us that are living in China. back in america, a legalization process of the drug is found everywhere, stores now can legally sell weed so many people there who normally would not be subjected to it are suddenly surrounded by it, are encouraged to try it by not only their peers but society. if you live in one of these two places your chances or trying or using the drug is drastically increased or decreased by the environment, not by the individual.

so it is in our surroundings we grow. fostered by certain factors or others, our yearning to become better or to change our fate is also etched into our environment. we are in places where change, both positive and negative are growing, the media will help create an echo chamber for us to catch the clues in. we are simply reacting to our surroundings, all of fumbling around with cell phones and pretending we have designed it, that we have created it somehow. it is a novelty to imagine we can change anything about any of the things that are going on, but just as we cannot beat our own heart, blow the wind or create our next thoughts, the new years will continue to be nothing but a date on a calendar and an imaginary level we think we might have a chance at pulling.