Many things happened over the weekend, I hosted a 50 year old Danish guy from Couchsurfing who was coming back from the Boom Festival in Portugal and wanted to check out Madrid for the first time before heading back home.
Even though as of late I'm writing in a narrative way, this glut of experience will be too large to digest as a story (for myself). I'll simply write down my conclusions:
There are certain things which we can know about ourselves through the encounter with the other. Virtues and flaws are evident when seen in others but we seem to be unable to see them in ourselves. The other acts as a mirror and and the art is recognizing when we are seeing a reflection.
The drive for sex is probably a distraction from the important things in life, but if we simply self-satisfy our sexual urges it becomes an evasion of life. If we satisfy our sexual needs through transaction (assuming fair trade, which is tricky) it is also an evasion.
We all seem to be willing to listen to the other so that they might listen to us. We can only be conscious of this urge and meet it with attentive listening. It is ultimately more interesting knowing the other than expressing yourself to the other. They won't truly listen to you anyways, so what's the point?
We have clever ways to conceal immoral behaviors from ourselves. Pointing them out to each other seems to be an important duty for which we will only gain disdain. The more I understand, the more I respect h0p3's activity in this regard.
Regarding addiction, we seem to constantly want to play with fire without getting burned. We are a moth circling a candle. By the time we notice ourselves wanting to have a healthy relationship with a substance or activity, it's already too late.
It's time to get to work.