Words That Look Back - Aversion

The Habit of Turning Away

Before the thought
a movement

Before the story
a turn

Toward
Away

So slight
it disappears

And from it
a world

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If you strip everything back far enough, you begin to see something simple.

The mind doesn’t start with a worldview.

It starts with a movement.

A slight leaning toward.
A slight leaning away.

A small, almost invisible “yes.”
A small, almost invisible “no.”

And then… it gets creative.

It builds meaning.
It builds preference.
It builds identity.

What began as a moment
becomes a pattern.

What becomes a pattern
becomes a way of seeing.

And before long,
it feels like reality itself.

Sometimes this creativity is beautiful.
Sometimes it is destructive.

Same instrument.
Different music.

The work, if there is any,
is quiet.

To notice that first movement
before it becomes a story.

To hear the first note
before the whole orchestra joins in.