vaucasy – n. the feat that you’re little more than a product of your circumstances, that for all the thought you put into shaping your believes and behaviors and relationships, you’re essentially a dog being trained by whatever stimuli you happen to encounter, reflexively drawn to whoever gives you reliable hits of pleasure, skeptical of ideas that make you feel powerless.

I think a lot about how my life has gone, and how I react to things. My thoughts, my behaviors, and how my past shapes me. I do try to learn more, and I think I do a good job.

I’m also proud of watching my kids grow and change as adults. When I look at them, I think they have a really interesting mix of things they inherited from my wife or I, and also from their experiences. They are all very different, but similar.

Vaucasy is certainly something that I think affects all of us. There is a very human need to react to simuli, looking for pleasure. I also think we can change that and put our thoughts into shaping behaviors and thoughts, but it takes effort.

It’s worth it.

From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows