The Roads We Inherit, The Roads We Choose
August 1, 2025 | Issue #14 | Sleeping Giants & Shifting Paths
In this week's edition we’ll unpack:
Sleeping Giants: The Legacy We Carry— Exploring how old habits and beliefs linger beneath the surface, quietly shaping our choices.
Aesop’s Wisdom— A timeless fable about freedom, impatience, and the cost of handing over control without thought.
Rotate Your Stuff: Refreshing Your Everyday— Simple ways to awaken overlooked spaces and reignite joy by shifting the anchors around you.
May these words find you well, as we untangle our thoughts and explore new ideas…
“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”
The Roads We Inherit, The Roads We Choose
Sometimes we may find ourselves tip-toeing through the land of sleeping giants—the old ways of doing things, outdated viewpoints, or even hobbies that no longer bring us the same kind of joy that they used to.
Each generation tries so desperately hard to escape the influence of the one before, only to later revive another’s story. We repeat trends, styles, and beliefs because, truthfully, it’s a bit easier than creating something entirely new.
The ancient Greeks understood this cycle all too well. In their myths, the younger Olympian gods—you know the ones: Zeus, Hades, Poseidon—overthrew the Titans, including their father Cronus, who, ironically, had once overthrown his father, Uranus (the sky). But even after their defeat, the Titans were never truly gone. They were buried deep in the bowels of Tartarus, and their presence still shaping the world above.
“We inherit the world not from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” —Native American Proverb
Our lives aren’t much different. Psychologists call it shifting baseline syndrome—the idea that each generation unconsciously accepts the conditions they’re born into as ‘normal,’ even if those conditions are diminished shards from what came before.
Over time, we forget what was once abundant or possible because we’re busy adapting to what is. But this theory doesn’t just stop with the effects on our natural environment, but our home, work, and inner ones as well.
The air feels a little thicker, the summers a little hotter, the stars a little dimmer in the night sky—but because the changes creep in slowly, we adjust without question. What would have shocked our grandparents now feels like just another day, another season, another year.
It’s why the summers we remember from childhood felt cooler, softer—lit with more fireflies and fewer worries…
...while the world we see now has shifted. Sometimes in ways so subtle we hardly notice—the quiet absence of ice cream tucks, a shorter spring, one less star in the sky—and other times in ways so grand they shake us awake, like heatwaves that break records or storms that rewrite geography maps.
And just like the Titans of old, these inherited ‘giants’ of thought, behavior, and culture don’t really disappear when we think we’ve moved on—they slumber quietly, dormant, buried deep beneath the surface, still shaping the world above. The challenge—and the opportunity— is to ask ourselves:
Which of these sleeping giants are we unknowingly carrying forward, and which ones are we brave enough to finally lay to rest?
Fun Takeaway: We all carry sleeping giants—old habits, beliefs, and patterns passed down through generations—that quietly shape how we see and interact with the world. But awareness is power. When we pause long enough to notice them, we can decide which ones we want to nurture and which ones are better left in the past. Choose intentionally.
Philosophy of the Week:
Aesop’s Fables & The Frogs Who Wished for a King
Aesop, the ancient Greek storyteller from around 600 BCE, was known for crafting short, memorable fables that used animals to teach essential life lessons. His stories have been passed down through the ages, and not just because they’re cute (though they often are)—but because they reflect something deeply human, even centuries later.
And one such story is this:
In short, frogs, who were bored with their freedom and discontent with having no ruler, began to cry out to Jupiter (Zeus) to send them a king. So, Zeus, who was amused, tossed down a log. It made a loud splash, but once the frogs realized the log was harmless, they mocked it and demanded a “real” king.
So Zeus sent them a stork… who immediately began eating them.
The frogs quickly learned that not all authority is created equal—and that sometimes, in our impatience or boredom, we invite in exactly what we don’t need.
Modern Reflection from a 2,600 yr Old Fable:
How often do we, as individuals or societies, trade autonomy for the illusion of order?
In a time when we’re bombarded with voices telling us what to do, what to buy, what to believe, or who should lead us—it’s worth asking:
Are we choosing thoughtfully, or just reacting to the stillness of our own freedom?
Day2Day Survival Tip:
Rotate Your Stuff—
Just like furniture, energy can get stale if it sits in the same place for too long.
So here’s your nudge to rotate your joy objects—those little items that once sparked something in you: a framed photo, a painting, a trinket, a crystal, a candle, a quote card.
Maybe you’ve stopped noticing the painting on the wall, or the shelf of treasures has become background noise. That’s okay—it happens. But when something joyful becomes just another part of the scenery, it loses its charge.
So:
Swap the photo on your nightstand, mantle or end tables.
Move that favorite mug from the back of the cabinet to the front.
Tuck away one item to give it a break—and bring out another that’s been collecting dust.
Rearrange your desk altar, bookshelf, or bathroom shelf with fresh eyes.
Even joy needs circulation. You don’t have to get rid of what you love—just give it a new stage to be displayed on. This tiny ritual of rearranging reminds your brain to see again, and brings a little wonder back to the everyday.
Anchor items are only helpful if they’re still keeping you grounded—instead of holding you in place.
Words of Wisdom:
As we step away from this week’s thoughts and wanderings, may we remember that even the most ordinary of paths can lead to unexpected places. Ones through the shifting forests of who we once were and to the mountain peaks of who we’re becoming.
Whether you're chasing ideas, chasing dreams, or just chasing the feeling of being more alive, the journey itself always leaves its mark.
In the words of one small hobbit with a very large heart:
“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.”
Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Guthrie
P.s. If you find that you want to read more about these giants of old or this shifting baseline syndrome:
An Introduction to Classical Mythology
