Day 53 · Q1: Self-Knowledge · February 22, 2026
Pause. Breathe. Begin.
I . L E C T I O
Jean-Paul Sartre
Existentialism Is a Humanism, 1946
“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”
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C O N T E X T
Sartre's lecture-turned-essay became the manifesto of existentialism. Freedom, he argues, is not a gift but a burden — we cannot not choose, and every choice defines us.
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I I . M E D I T A T I O
“What decision are you avoiding right now by pretending you have no choice?”
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I I I . S C R I P T I O
Write one sentence about a choice you are making by not making a choice.
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I V . C O N N E X I O
How does today's reading connect to what you have read before?
This practice exists because of readers like you.
Sustain it →Tomorrow's passage, delivered at dawn.