1: Broken Mirror

Fun Fact: Nothing said to me has ever offended me.

Hot Take: The concept of being offended by something someone has to say about you is so bizarre.

In·sult

Verb

Insult: The projection of an individual's perception of the person they characterize you as. A DELUSION

Of·fend·ed

Adjective

Offended: The acceptance to partake in someone else's delusion, typically due to a perceived insult.

By taking offense to something, you consciously choose to completely disregard reality to the point that you accept this person's delusion about yourself AS YOUR REALITY. 

Absurd.

Completing the Map

You must know your map like the back of your hand. However, there are places on this map that are tough to traverse, so an obscene amount of introspection is required. Ask yourself questions and be ready to die for your convictions. This is how you complete your map. The map is the self and all the facets of what makes you you. However, the mind is a strange void that I'm still struggling to comprehend the depth of. The void is what lies beyond your map (Think curiosity, anxiety, and fear). You must endlessly venture out into the depths of this void to learn more about the self. In this process, constantly remind yourself what is on that map. It is your nature. Let it guide you through the void; nothing anyone can say or do will stray you from a state of tranquility after returning from the void.

I'm a visual learner:

Hope this helped.

The Caveat (must understand, or you’ll live in an equal but opposite delusion yourself)

Newton's third law impairs me from maintaining an attitude of indifference if I repudiate all feedback (good or bad). What has happened in your life happened to you. It was prescribed to you by fate. Accepting reality is the name of the game here. So if someone comments about your character and it is objectively true (your appearance, your nature, etc.), it shouldn't tip any emotional seesaw because it is TRUE. Do I not live in reality? Or should I live in a delusion I so strongly believe to the point that it becomes my reality?

I harmonize my flow of thoughts to flow like a river. By keeping my thoughts in perpetual motion, anyone’s attempts to intoxicate the river are meaningless. Because my mind works perpetually, I can return to the river for a drink, disinterested in the unfruitful attempts to disrupt an everlasting flow. 

💪Get your reps in!

Hands down, one of the most intellectually curious people I've ever had the chance to meet was a guy named Luke Clancy (he's out in SF doing some sick stuff and has a lot to share with the world. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t check him out!). He taught me that thoughts and the mind are like muscles. You need to use them to strengthen them. Thought is an inexplicably complicated muscle. However, just like any other muscle, it grows with repetition. Through the repetition of thought, you can build a mental fortitude of diamond.

All jealousy stems from an incomplete understanding of the self. Only after you fully comprehend both the flesh and soul will you reach a state where you are genuinely uninterested. Uninterested in providing or receiving the misinformed opinions of others.

I urge you to challenge my beliefs. I’m curious to see how I’d react to a shift in one of my fundamental beliefs.

First of many.

— Z.Y.