Like many Americans, I spent last night huddled around the TV watching election results come in. I clung desperately to every new piece of information parcelled out even as it became clear that there would be no definitive answer tonight. I extrapolated sweeping theories off random vote counts only to throw them out and begin afresh with the next new morsel of data.

This is only evolutionary. Natural selection trained us to spot patterns out of chaos. But now there is no jaguar to spot amongst the leaves. And yet we remain tethered to fitting isolated events into patterns and broader narratives as a sort of vestigial third-eye.

Occassionally, I have been able to escape this imperitive. Realize that rather than having a bad day, it was just two unfortunate moments. And that there will be boundless opportunities in the rest of the day to right whatever wrong I’ve experienced.

Such experiences almost feel akin to lucid dreaming. To breaking out of a box- a box of my own making, but a box nonetheless. The possibilities are endless for how I will experience the day, and how I will let the events of the day shape my emotions and understanding.

Of course, eventually I do go back inside that box. I go to sleep and forget exactly how being untethered feels. The box is cozy, safe, and there’s really no need to leave. Which only makes the control feel even more magical the next time I do manage to escape.