#travelandinquiry

[scientsphiction]

Inquirer: Let us pretend that you are not in the present.

Inquirer: Instead, you are in the future.

Inquirer: You are looking back on this moment.

Inquirer: Tell me,

Inquirer: What do you wish you would have done?

[scientsphiction]

What is a friend?

Traveler: This is quite simple, Inquirer.

Traveler: A friend is a person that makes you feel more like yourself.

Inquirer: I see. In that, when we are together, I spend a lot of time asking questions...

Traveler: And I spend a lot of time remembering all the places I've been, yes!

Inquirer: In this way, we are more together than apart.

Traveler: Indeed. I like it very much.

[scientsphiction]

Inquirer: Traveler, there are so many important things one can do in their lifetime.

Inquirer: At my best, how do I know when I am doing enough?

Traveler: Hm. That's an easy one, Inquirer.

Traveler: "Enough" is slightly less than "Too much". Never try to do more than that.

Inquirer: ... I see. That is very simple.

Traveler: Isn't it?

Inquirer: Albeit a little...

[scientsphiction]

Traveler: Maybe I'm always traveling because I can't seem to belong anywhere.

Traveler: Or, maybe I'm always traveling because everyone else left me behind.

[scientsphiction]

An Inquirer on Beauty

Inquirer: Beauty is subjective. That means that everyone understands it differently depending on their perspective.

Inquirer: Objectively, some perspectives are bad, and some are good.

Inquirer: So, some objects are beautiful more often and more objectively than others.

Inquirer: I would imagine that some objects are beautiful, no matter what.

[scientsphiction]

A Traveler on Smiles

Traveler: I try to smile at all kinds of people that I see on my travels!

Traveler: People like to keep to themselves sometimes, so they don't always smile back...

Traveler: I get the impression, sometimes, that... I seem kind of... different from most people. And that, because of that, they, um... avoid me. Like I'm scary.

Traveler: Travelers are almost always out of place, after all...

Traveler: Still! Everyone wins a smile! Even if there's a little risk, I always try to brighten the day!

[scientsphiction]

Traveler: That's silly, Inquirer! You can't go around policing your thoughts!

Inquirer: Is not my pessimism completely unproductive? And I am sure that people often time think things that are bad, unjust, or otherwise improper.

Traveler: Well, yeah, maybe. We are fallible beings. We make judgements in our heads really fast.

Inquirer: Is not as much evident of our character? Bad people think bad thoughts.

Traveler: Close, but not quite, Inquirer. If a person feels pain, or sadness, or joy, we cannot blame them, can we?

Inquirer: We require that they take responsibility.

Traveler: Well, yes. But what I mean is that none of those feelings have any affect on reality, right?

Inquirer: To the extent that they do not influence any action.

Traveler: Right! And the way we judge character, Inquirer, is by a person's choices and nothing else. Their thoughts don't matter nearly as much as their actions do.

Inquirer: Their thoughts do not matter?

Traveler: They DO matter. But they are not a good basis for the judgement of character.

[scientsphiction]

Traveler: I know that you're really insecure, and you're afraid and you really want to know!

Inquirer: Indeed.

Traveler: But I can't just tell you what a "good person" is!

Traveler: The thing is, because an individual should always try to improve, they can never call themself "good" or "bad" for as long as they are "trying"! When you ask "Am I a good person?", what you're really asking is "Do other people think I'm a good person?".

Inquirer: I see. And since there are a large number of people in the world, I should only consider the opinions of the people I choose to care about?

Traveler: Yes! Exactly. And if someone doesn't know you, Inquirer, then their opinion of you can't matter because they don't have enough information.

Inquirer: How much is enough?

Traveler: That's... that's something only you can decide. We make a lot of mistakes, Inquirer, but they can't all define us. Sometimes, it's most important to forgive yourself than to ask someone else to do it for you.

Inquirer: ...

Inquirer: Okay.