All The World’s a Stage

February 1, 2026 | Issue #26| Trial Expired

Welcome to Minds In Motion, your monthly field guide of small observations, questions, quotes, and truths — collected without urgency and shared as they are, still in motion.

"The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting." —Plutarch, 46-120 CE

And so our 30-day free trial of 2026 has ended, and before you ask — yes, it’s far too late to unsubscribe. Still, we have to admit, it’s already been a very interesting year.

From covert operations capturing another country’s president to historic winter storms sweeping across more than 30 states and leaving half a million people without power for days…it’s a lot. And that’s without even mentioning the other handful of equally intriguing and horrendous events. This year is sounding like the preview to one of those Jason Statham movies.

“All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts..” —William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

It’s no wonder defeatism, self-doubt, and overwhelm have already started to slowly chip away at the shine of the new year… almost as if it’s intentional, part of this grand rhythmic cycle of life, or simply the weight of those internal high expectations and the pressure we put on ourselves before the year even properly starts.

Lions, and tigers, and bears…oh my!

"You have no control over the hand that life deals you, but how you play that hand is entirely up to you" —Voltaire, 1694-1778

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3 Small Observations

1. One pattern I seemed to notice more: When things, people, events, or even our lives don’t line up with our expectations, we often tend to feel more defeated. But more often than not, the issue isn’t the moment itself, it’s that we were expecting too much from it. Assumptions and Expectations have their place, but they’re tools best used sparingly.

2.  One quiet truth that kept reoccurring: That our life is an accumulated record of our days, which Friedrich Nietzsche explores: “ What is the history of every day in your case? Look at your habits that constitute it: are they the product of innumerable little cowardices and lazinesses, or of your courage and inventive reason?”

3.  One question that stayed with me: What belief about your limits was true once, but isn’t true any more?

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A Gentle Practice

Shuffle The Things That Bring You Joy.Re-Categorize. Alternate. Swap and Swab. Touch. Organize.

Sometimes our own happiness, energy, and self-value start to resemble those precious items we’ve left sitting on a shelf or hanging on a wall for years. Familiar, loved, but a tiny bit dulled by time and routine. We don’t need to wait for Spring to do a bit of spring cleaning. A small rearrangement, a gentle dust-off, or a shift in placement can make everything feel alive again, including us.

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[closing thought]

No matter the year, no matter the season, no matter who did what or which country is wearing which ideological hat — it’s all a stage. And the only  great currents that move, shape and control the world are Money, Minerals, and Energy. Together they script the stage on which nations rise, fall, and reinvent themselves.

So, if entire nations can do this *broad hand gesture* reshape, redirect, and begin again… then surely, surely, we can do it on a personal level too.

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Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Guthrie  

P.s. Where did the actual event of Groundhog Day really originate? You may be surprised to find out that it has roots intertwined with the pre-Christian festivals of Halloween and Mayday. Read More