The Unprivate Mind

It's a few minutes into the new year and already I'm pleasantly surprised.     I went for a walk outside and into the frigid air and spent the turning of the clock rambling to myself about the year we leave behind, and the promises of the year that lie ahead, all the while understanding that both years have already happened; understanding that there is nothing one can do to alter the course of things; understanding that free will is mostly an illusion; that mostly everything is an illusion; that life is but a dream. I am going to have a positive mindset this year. I am going to believe that I am inherently valuable, and that I have things to share which likewise possess value. I am going to be unafraid to give myself away. When people know things about you, they can wield power over you in ways that people who know nothing can't. But what is that power, exactly? The casting of judgement? Scorn? Ridicule? These are social powers and, like most things social, they are un