Julian Summerhayes

“In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.”
― Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere

I hope this isn't too random or too obscure.

If it is, I apologise in advance.

We're human. 

That means (and speaking personally) we think — constantly.

And stories, emotions and feelings emerge. 

The waters are choppy at the best of times, but there's a strong inclination to avoid the crappy thoughts (or shove them down) and savour or encourage the good ones. 

If that's not your experience, fine, but when I was growing up, no one explained to me that thinking was part of the human condition, how it might then operate over the course of my life and that it's a random affair, despite repeatedly being told that the apogee of life was to be (constantly) happy. And I clearly bought into this. Remember, one of the first personal development books I ever bought was "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. Can you imagine it? Thinking yourself rich! It's positively chortle-worthy.

One other thing that's rarely discussed is that we live in a subject (us)/object (everything else) world — i.e. it's dualistic. Imagine, though, removing the subject just long enough to opine upon the thing that previously we took for granted. 

Take something as obvious as the things we see — e.g. clouds, the moon, the sun and all things in nature. Absent us, you might argue that there's just..., err..., well..., something, but you can't evince any labels. 

One of the first records I ever bought.

The rest? 

Well, one day I might find a space to tear things up and apart.