Imagine humans knew absolutely nothing but the fact that babies came from a random portal on earth. The portal would be beloved by all. People would make offerings etc to this portal. They would believe that the portal was some sort of god-like entity because it is the only thing that is creating humanity.

So why do we treat women so poorly? They are the literal portal to life.

In class today, on the board there was a quote that got me (15, almost 16) thinking.
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.”
I’m an over thinker, and easily confused and overwhelmed, so I’m having a hard time understanding. I get what the quote is saying, but how do you know if something is an excuse or a reason? Any answers would be greatly appreciated!
Ps. Have a good day :)

Seneca used to recommend something he called premeditating on loss, basically picturing in advance that the people and things you value could be gone tomorrow, not to become numb to them but so the loss wouldn't blindside you completely if it happened. The idea was that most grief isn't just about the loss itself, it's about how unprepared you were for the possibility of it. I've never been sure if that actually works the way he thought it did. On one hand there's something to be said for not treating your current situation as permanent by default, that seems to make people genuinely more grateful for ordinary days. On the other hand, spending real time rehearsing the worst case for something good in your life sounds like it could just quietly drain the color out of it while it's still here. Has anyone actually tried doing this on purpose, picturing a loss ahead of time as practice, and found it either helped or backfired?

Is it normal to look and compare what your agemates have achieved to yourself?