Today we're starting off with a question.

Questions are important, aren't they?

Deep questions.

The type of questions that make us, they'll call us to observe ourselves.

Who are you outside of the group, the culture, the society that you grew up in?

Who are we in solitude?

You know, we all belong to something, you know, a culture, a community, a movement, a family.

And we inherit a way of speaking, thinking, a way of being. You know, the way we greet strangers,

the way we react to stress, even the kind of music that moves us. A lot of it comes from

somewhere, but how much of it comes within? How much of who we are is influenced by the external? Who are you outside of the group?

Think about this. If you stripped away the language, the style, the customs, if you step back from

your curated social media feed from the daily input of the world, who would remain without the crowd,

without the conversations, without the influence, who are you?

You know, we are born into a rhythm that existed long before us.

A rhythm passed down through generations refined and reinforced by the collective mind of society.

And we absorb it when we come out the womb like oxygen, rarely questioning it.

Some cultures, they emphasize duty over individuality, like in Japan. Some families that we are born into force religion

onto us. Others push independence as the highest form of self. Some normalize the hustle.

Well, some prioritize rest and artistic expression. Some teach competition,

while others teach unity. You see, the patterns of our upbringing carve deep grooves

into the way we see ourselves and the world. But eventually, a moment has to come where we simply ask,

was I shaped by these outside forces, or was I born to shape something different?

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