"Tommorow's an illusion. Yesterday's a dream. Today is a solution." - "Not Quite Paradise" by Bliss 66

Lie in your bed with the lights off. Try to sleep. Also try to stay awake. Turn on talk radio if it helps.
Toss and turn a bit. Now pull the covers over your eyes and stop to think.
"What is going on around me? What do I care about the stuff on the radio? I'm comfortable here in my bed."
For that moment, you will be content beyond belief. You won't want it to end. You'll never want to leave that spot.
FWOOOSH! The thought comes over you gradually. You want to stop time. You want to control it.

You are enlightened.
You are surreal.
You are alone.
You are there.

You're here.
You're not.

I'll write something insightful eventually, but I can't get to my insights right now because I CAN'T GET THIS GODDAMN VIDEO OUT OF MY HEAD! CURSE YOU EBAUM FOR POSTING IT AGAIN!

"There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies, and statistics." - Mark Twain

Statistics can definitely lie (See "ARIA"). This doesn't mean that all statistics are lies. Many are quite useful. It is ironic that Twain groups all statistics into the "lies" group because generalization is why many statistics are lies in the first place.

Rule #1 of non-conformity: Everyone is, and always has been, different. Even in the unlikely event that two people are seemingly indistinguishable, the differences exist. They subtly affect every single thing that we think, do, and process. The Butterfly Effect is nearly 100% accurate. Everything can turn out differently than it eventually does. It is a matter of what one person does and how the chips fall because of it.

Statistics can still be useful if people unite for the purpose of the stat. Grouping people together unwillingly under one set of statistics is counter-productive for administrators and subjects alike. People are not jigsaw puzzle pieces that fit perfectly into a nook or cranny. When someone tries to fit a weird piece in, the piece will emerge unaffected or completely destroyed. Leave people alone if you are just going to turn them blindly into statistics.

We truly are unique snowflakes.

Sympathy is appreciated. "Empathy" is annoying.

Nobody knows how you feel. Others have gone through your plight. Some have even accompanied you. Are you so average that your mind is predictable? Someone somewhere understands you. This person's empathy is nearly priceless. Everyone else's "understanding" is barely worth a dime. It is the sympathy, assurance, and confirmation that is the fruit along the way. When you understand yourself, you are there.

Everyone judges people other than themselves. I constantly judge within my mind everyone I see. My conscience destroys the verdicts, but they keep coming back.

We are free to judge others, but it is horribly imprudent in the eye of the beholder. He or she will attempt to head you off at every turn. Why must we incite confrontation? I understand the merits of conflict, marketing, and the almighty dollar. What I struggle to understand is the rage-filled grudge that is connected, either as the stem or as the limb, to our perpetual search for flaws.