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the origin of humanity

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THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY (The book is out!)

By In Words

Hello everyk

Hello everyone, I’m in Switzerland and a little late to let you know that THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY — subtitled WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT — is finally available (since March 13 this year) from Books on Demand: https://www.bod.de/buchshop/the-origin-of-humanity-beat-schindler-9783739247373.

Based on the fact that humanity is a word, for the first time ever, I recommend the paperback for €36.00, however,it is of course also available in ebook format for €14.99.

If you’re interested in how it all began and how we (humans and humanity), have come about, THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY will be well worth your energy and time.

Both versions of the book are also available from Amazon — look for “Beat Schindler Origin of Humanity” — or from local book stores wherever you are.

The paperback-price may differ because regional conditions may apply, but the Kindle version should be identical, respectively $14.99.

Either way, happy reading!

Do you want a fresh perspective now but cannot figure out how?

By In Words

What is FRESH PERSPECTIVE and why isn’t everybody talking about it?

Well, I haven’t lately told my readers about FRESH PERSPECTIVE, partly because I’ve been out for a large part of 2022 (for health reasons) and also because in the time since then, I’ve been busy doing research and publishing THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY, the new book now available in paperback and ebook from Books on Demand and Amazon.

THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY answers the questions of how it all began and how to move forward in an insanely uncertain world.

Biased for having written the book, as you’d expect, I’m acutely aware that it might offend certain word-users. But most of all I believe it is well worth reading for anyone interested in how we’ve come about.

If that’s not you, then please simply recommend THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY to your friends and acquaintances. Thank you for spreading the word!

FRESH PERSPECTIVE is the social media name of THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY on which FRESH PERSPECTIVE is based.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Socrates

“To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – Buckminster Fuller

Both THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY and FRESH PERSPECTIVE are important and urgent contributions to making the Earth a better place for us to share with the other elements and species.

I believe that’s what brought you to this post, and if we begin with what we agree on, it’s easier to understand what I and this is all about.

It all began in my teenage years when I was still impressed by stories told by storytellers substantially taller and stronger than I was at the time — stories of worlds created by fictional characters, of promised lands, of humans and nature, separate from each otherm, of homo sapiens, and of mankind.

I was a handful back then, in my teenage years, and have remained so to this day, but hey, who wasn’t or isn’t, only to grow out of it when the time is right, to each their own.

It doesn’t mean I was convinced. All I’m saying is that I got used to it over time.

Now that my time has come, I can clearly see those early storytellers didn’t know what they were doing, nothing but pawns in their game, walls in their bricks, their teachings designed for the sole purpose of having me confused beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Whether a word-user is awake or asleep makes no difference.

“Call it a dream, it doesn’t change anything.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

You cannot win with a losing hand, and a losing hand exists only in the world of the word-user’s for self-evident reasons.

In the word-user’s world it doesn’t matter a Dickie bird whether a story or a word happened or not. All that matters is they are believed. And everybody knows that when you tell or repeat a lie, you are the first to know, so, that’s what happens every time beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Sure, lies and stories have been told for thousands of years, with no end in sight. There’s nothing new about it, but if you don’t know the difference between the two, there’s nothing more a storyteller can do for you.

Words — of which stories are made — have changed the world more than any other event before or since. They can do it again if we give them a chance.

On the upside, you don’t have to wait for the world to begin, for when you change the way you look at words, your world changes instantly .

The proof’s in the pudding

What have words got to do with changing your personal world, you might ask? Well, all kinds of things are being said, depending on who is saying them, and what to believe, or not, is a question of personal character and preferences, to each their own.

Fact is, words don’t describe the world.

If words did in deed describe the world in truth, that means Google, Wikipedia, Merriam-Webster, Oxford, and ChatGPT (also depicted in the graph above) would be right, which clearly they are not.

They couldn’t be wronger if they tried.

Words do nothing but describe the truth how the word-users see it.

But the one who responds to the world will always be the word-user.

The best a word can do is co-respond

The same applies to god, universe, love, broken hearts, and life — in fact to everything you have a word for — for self-evident reasons.

Keep in mind that not long ago — when the age was stone, the Sahara green, Northern Europe under 1-mile thick ice, and writing hadn’t been invented yet — the first word-users were merely wishing for words. Now, a mere 10,000 years later, we’re drowning in them.

According to collins.co.uk there exist now 4.5 billion words in just English alone. You know I’m not making this up because I couldn’t even if I tried, and I’m not even trying. So, there you have it.

I share more thoughts about words and how to deal with them in my books, articles, and posts. Stay tuned for more on this topic — there’ll be much more at Schindlersword in the coming months.

I hope you’ll take a look.

Are you trying to understand words and wanna cry?

By In Words

Understand words is not a walk in the park.

I should know for I stumbled upon words back in 2016.

7 years and 10,000 hours of writing about words later, I’m still only just getting started.

If you’re anything like me, you must not only discover but then also accept that there is a difference between Before Words and After Words.

Before Words vs After Words

Next, you work hard to understand the difference between word and words.

Word vs Words

If you’re anything like me one more time, the hardest part by a country mile is accepting that…

  • “Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself. Impossible. Confusing. Frustrating.” – Patrick Rothfuss
  • “What a word means, a sentence cannot say.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

And if that weren’t enough, you must also deal with wordusers telling you without fail that trying to understand words is hopeless and forlorn.

I did it anyway.

But that’s not all.

I also wrote a book — in English — that will help you understand words beyond the shadow of a doubt.

As a special preview, the book’s introduction reads like this:

INTRODUCTION

THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY, WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT, investigates and answers what everybody wants to know.

  • How did it all begin?
  • What existed before humanity?
  • Why are we here and the wordless aren’t?

Origin can be denied only by confirming it, a word. The same applies to the beginning and to humanity.

Before words, words didn’t exist for self-evident reasons. After words, the only question on the table is when did words, the beginning, and humanity happen?

Have words been with us forever, or have they arrived only when mother Earth gave birth to herself 4.65 billion years ago? Or did the words appear 542 million years ago when the eyes appeared, or maybe 42 million years later, when the invention of the eyes was followed by the invention of the brain? Or did words happen perhaps only 300 million years ago when animals of the homo type first showed up? Could it have been on a Tuesday 6026 years ago when nothing happened?

To keep you from guessing, the first (spoken-only) words are estimated to have appeared between 9500 and 18000 years ago. When exactly doesn’t matter.

The 13750 years ago used in THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY (WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT) is the average between the low and the high estimates.

13750 years ago, the age was stone, the Sahara green, Northern Europe under 1-mile-thick ice, and writing hadn’t been invented yet.

Please feel free to estimate the exact date yourself. After all, that’s what words are for.

Much water has gone under the bridge since, with much other stuff too, some good and some bad.

The wordless remain as wordless as ever, but the wordy have climbed to the top of the food chain second to none. The self-declared crown of evolution, ready for breakfast on Mars, and with our sense of humor we can look at what has changed — the glorious, the fantastic, the absurd, and the non-sensical — and laugh about it, not sure if that’s scary or funny or how it benefits us.

Only one thing is certain beyond the shadow of a doubt. Without our sense of humor, we’d all go insane. If we haven’t already.

Everybody knows that nothing good will ever come from fighting the old. It takes a fresh perspective that makes the old obsolete.

For this and other reasons as well, THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY (WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT) invites you to look at words as an alien might.

As you read my book, new landscapes will unfold that everybody knows have been there all along.

But as you will notice, the unfolding is you.

Of course, my book can offend for other reasons as well.

But let’s begin in the beginning

I wanted to write a book that gives readers hope. I believe that’s why you are here, and if we begin with what we agree on, it’s easier to understand what THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY (WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT) is about.

We probably haven’t had the pleasure to meet in person yet, so let me briefly introduce myself to you.

My name is Beat Schindler. That I’m passionate about the origin of humanity is new even to me.

In my younger years, I used to believe the stories told to me by storytellers typically stronger and taller than me.

I believed not only that the world had been created, but also that I’m part of a family, community, nation, people, humanity, and brotherhood of man. On top of that, I believed I was born human and, therefore, that I’m separate from nature.

I’m not saying I was convinced, but over time I got used to it.

When I was older, in 2016, it suddenly occurred to me that humanity could be a word.

Six years and many doubters later, it turns out that humanity is indeed what can be denied only by confirming it.

Now I’m driven by what I feel and no longer see the point in tarting it up.

I’m passionate about the origin of humanity as well as about the origin of words, because the two events are identical.

If it wasn’t for words, humanity wouldn’t exist.

I no longer believe anything is separate from nature. Everything is part of the origin, including us, the word-users.

I reside in a country where writing about the origin doesn’t get me silenced, imprisoned, or cost me my life.

Everybody wished that the governments all over the world loved their children, too, but everybody also knows the state the world is in.

Words

I hear you, what in the world have words got to do with the origin of humanity?

All kinds of things are being said about words, depending on who is saying them, and what to believe is a question of character and personal preference, to each their own.

There’s nothing new about it.

The story of words

In the beginning are the wordless — fire, air, earth, water, cells, plants, animals, eyes, and brains.

Who’s telling the story doesn’t make any difference.

13750 years ago, when words arrived, though they did nothing but divide the time on Earth into the Before Words and the After Words, they also changed the world more than any other event before or since.

I think it is no exaggeration to say words are the origin of humanity.

I’m not one to make new opinions or to invent anything. Everybody knows the word is a gift we’re meant to keep.

I think it is no exaggeration to say that the word is also the origin of you.

The story of you

For without words, you doesn’t exist, and the reason we’re here and the wordless aren’t, is because we have words and the wordless haven’t.

  • “Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself.” – Patrick Rothfuss
  • “What a word means, a sentence cannot say.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

I agree with the above quotes 100%.

Nevertheless, in THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY (WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT) I will do just that, talk of words the best I can to let you discover for yourself what words are, do, and have, how we respond to them, and what that says about us.

To produce the numbers, tables, and graphs in this book, I’ve worked with the help of the internet. I trust they will let you see what happened in liberating new ways.

Understanding words is never a question of quantity. There are always those who understand and those who don’t.

But on one thing, my friend, I give you my word.

When you change the way you look at words, the world changes.

Limits and truths

The truths and limits of your world have got nothing to do with what’s out there.

The limits and truths of your world have got everything to do with your meaning of words.

No word can have your truth for you.

There’s no candle in the window.

It’s all up to you and artificial intelligence, whatever that’s supposed to be, doesn’t help.

You

What in the world have you, of all things, got to do with words?

Well, what you can feel, hear, smell, taste, touch, or see, or if you have a word for it, or if you have another word for it, it’s a word.

For this and other reasons as well, you is also part of THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY (WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT) — what you are, do, can, and have, how you respond, and what that says about you.

Philosophy

I’m a storyteller, not a philosopher, so what has philosophy, of all things, got to do with the origin of humanity?

Why?

Above marked in red, Why? is the basis of not only storytelling, but also of every philosophical pursuit.

I do read of philosophers whenever the time is right, most recently when I enrolled at the local “Journées philosophiques” earlier this year.

Among the speakers was Markus Gabriel, “a philosopher” according to Wikipedia (the world’s most-read reference work), “the thinker of the hour”, according to DIE ZEIT (over 270,000 subscribers use the digital ZEIT), and chair of epistemology and of modern- and present-day philosophy at the University of Bonn, Germany. For context only, a few of Markus Gabriel’s quotes.

  • “It would be better if man would learn to understand himself as an animal again.” 
  • “We will never know everything.”
  • “Society will always have to come to terms with man’s susceptibility to error.”
  • “We need an ethics of not knowing.”

A favorite of mine is Ludwig Wittgenstein, “considered by some to be the greatest philosopher of the 20th century”, according to Wikipedia. For context only, below a few of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s quotes.

  • “All I know is what I have words for.”
  • “What a word means, a sentence cannot say.”
  • “Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination.”
  • “A new word is like a fresh seed sown on the ground of the discussion.”
  • “Call it a dream, it does not change anything.”
  • “What one cannot speak of, one must remain silent about.”
  • “Death is not an event in life.”
  • “If a question can be asked, then it can also be answered.” 
  • “Everything that can be thought and said at all, can be thought and said clearly.”   
  • “To say of two things that they are identical is nonsense. And to say of one thing that it is identical with itself is to say nothing.”
  • “I won’t say ‘See you tomorrow’ because that would be like predicting the future, and I’m pretty sure I can’t do that.”
  • “Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life.”

In THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY (WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT), simply look for what is useful, ignore the rest, or reach out to say hello.

Systemic change requires sharing the information.

If the information in this introduction is useful to you and maybe to others, please feel free to share it lock, stock, and barrel.

PS.

You can also listen to the book’s introduction by clicking the play button below.

PPS.

You can purchase THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY (WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT) from my publisher, Books on Demand, from Amazon worldwide, or from any local book stores (on stock or by order).

Are you making this common mistake with your identity?

By In Words, You

No matter how hard you try?

The random things we do daily often happen without intent.

By the time you realize that they’ve become habits, they have already become part of what you identify with and, therefore, of your decisions to invest your time and energy.

If that is so, that would be a BIG mistake…that is easy to stop.

All it takes is to add intent to these daily random habits. The instant you do that, you give yourselves the chance to rewrite and rewire your attitudes.

But to begin, you first need to see it.

If you’re anything like the rest of us, that means that in your teenage years you believed the stories told all over the world.

I was like the rest of us myself, hence had no clue whether a story genuinely happened or not doesn’t matter a Dickie bird, that the only thing that matters is that the story is believed.

Well, the least I can say is the times have changed and that much water has gone under the bridge. But what’s told about stories is still the same. Most word-users still don’t have a clue.

‎”Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school.” – Plato (2,500 years ago)
“When I look back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” – Paul Simon (40 years ago)

That makes you wonder who’s teaching the storytellers, doesn’t it?

Well, the story not told is…

Who are you?

According to the stories told, you’re probably making everybody else’s mistake. As we speak, you probably link your identity to…

  • Your name
  • Your looks
  • Your religion
  • Your nationality
  • Your family
  • Your work
  • Your possessions
  • Your reputation
  • Your status (“I’m a teenager”, “I’m retired”, “I’m ______)
  • Your beliefs

…to name a few.

If you do, that guarantees that your identiy will change as time goes by.

It also ensures that your identity is at risk to get stolen. And that you won’t be pleased when that happens.

I’m not one to make up new opinions…

You are, do, and have.

… all I’m saying is what you ARE, what you DO, and what you HAVE are different stories altogether.

Am also saying that if you’re looking for an identity that lasts forever and a day…

  • Forget what you DO
  • Forget what you HAVE

…for these things shall change as time goes by.

To give yourself an identity that will last forever, stick to what you ARE.

You ARE 70% water, and 30% fire-air-earth.

The percentages will vary (slightly) between birth and death, but that’s nothing to worry about.

The water, fire, air, and earth that you are made of, are the same elements that the Earth is made of.

How’s that for consistency.

I’m not saying that changes everything. All I’m saying is it will make a BIG difference.

But that’s not all.

Long before you even showed up, these four elements of fire, air, earth, and water have single-handedly, as it were, invented the cells, the plants, the animals, the eyes, the brains, the words, and the word-users from scratch.

Our common ancestor and you are simply the most recent product of what the fire, air, earth and water have invented from scratch, also know as evolution.

Knowing your roots is as good as having them.

Knowing you’re 70% water and 30% fire-air-earth gives you an identity you will never forget.

You will never have an identity crisis again.

I asked an elderly person once what it was like to know that the largest chunk of her life was most likely now behind her. To my surprise, she responded that she had been the same age since her birth, and that the 70 % of water she is made of had always been fresh. She always wondered when she’d get old. She also said her body was ageing and her abilities grew duller as time went on, but the fire, air, earth and water inside never got tired. She changed, but she never grew old.

The next time you meet somebody older, just know they’re made of the same elements as you.

How does it feel being re-minded?

A world of difference

Before I knew that I’m 70% water and 30% fire, air, and earth, I used to change my identity like I changed my underwear.

Now I could be me or I could be an LGBTQIA+, but I and my identity would remain 70% water and 30% fire-air-earth just the same

The sun, the moon, and the stars change genders depending on where you are.

Yet the children get low grades at school for being confused about theirs.

It is simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius (2,400 years ago)

PS.

You may still have to look up your passport, race, or religion, but to the need to know your identity will be a thing of the past. Imagine the time and energy free for the things that matter.

An often overlooked part of humanity (and why it’s crucial to see).

By In Words

The most often overlooked part of humanity is that it’s a word.

Many word-users believe humanity is what it describes, is how it usually works.

That is a BIG mistake.

This post is an attempt to explain why that is.

Who am I to talk in turn?

I’m the author of THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY, subtitled WHAT CAN BE DENIED ONLY BY CONFIRMING IT.

The book is based on the fact that humanity is a word.

I originally noticed that humanity is a word back in 2016.

It felt like being struck by lightning.

Though I’ve never been actually struck by lightning on my journey before, the experience changed my view of the words more than any other experience before or since.

Until 2016, I used to believe the words I was told. Like everybody else, or so it seems, I believed humanity is what it says in the various reference works online and off.

Little wonder I was also confused like everybody else, or so it seemed to me at the time.

But when I could clearly see, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that humanity is a word, it changed everything — meaning it forever changed how I look at everything I have a word for.

As it is true that the stars are always there, even in the full sun, so it is for words.

Even when we don’t see, notice, or pay attention to the words, they’re always there, night and day.

Call it a dream, it doesn’t change anything.

Humanity is a word

That humanity is a word can be denied only by confirming it, meaning only by using it.

Without words, humanity doesn’t exist.

Nor does anything for which we’ve invented words since words first appeared 13,750 years ago, when the age was stone, the Sahara green, Northern Europe under 1-mile-thick ice, and writing hadn’t been invented yet.

Time-out

Now it’s time to put the theory to the test, for which, near as I can tell, there is but one way.

Practice trumps theory. Every time,

See for yourself if you can deny humanity without using it, that is without confirming it.

There may be resistance to believe that a word can be denied only by confirming it, but that’s nothing to fear or worry about.

On the contrary…

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“When you drive your car at night, you can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” – E. L. Doctorow

Do I dare predict it won’t be long before you join the few who clearly see that the most overlooked part of humanity is that it’s a word? Yes I do.

Because behind every new horizon there will always be more to see…

New landscapes will unfold, but everybody knows that those landscapes have been there all along — the unfolding is you, and you alone

You shall change only when and how you want to change, at your own chosen speed, which will get you from where you are to where you want to be.

Acceptance

Only you can accept this.

No other word and nobody else can accept it for you.

But when you change how you look at words, the world changes. On that, my friend, I give you my word.

Before Words, After Words

Acceptance allows you to clearly see there is a Before Words and a After Words.

Words.
Fire, air, earth, and water. How together they invented the cells, plants, animals, eyes, brains, words, and finally us, the wordy (also known as humanity).

I’m not one to make up new opinions.

In the beginning is the word.

Without words, humanity don’t exist.

Let alone sapiens.

In the wordless world

In the wordless world, words don’t exist for self-evident reasons.

In the wordy world

In the wordy world, if you have a word for it, it’s a word.

The best is yet to come: A word couldn’t be anything else if it tried.

Simple

If you have a word for it, it’s a word.

It looks simple on paper, but you might find it difficult to believe in practice.

And how is it supposed to save us from a war we cannot win?

Currently, man is waging war against nature. If he wins, he is lost”. – Hubert Reeves

You cannot win with a losing hand. Nor can the rest of humanity.

How did humanity ever come so far?

About words

All kinds of things are being said about words, depending on who is saying them.

What’s more, there is nothing new about it.

It’s been going on for thousands of years.

But there’s a difference.

What or whom to believe is all up to you.

Because what to believe, or what not to believe, is a question of character and personal preference.

To each their own.

No other word and other word-user can believe it for you.

And for what to believe, or what not to believe, about words, your choices are:

  • You can believe that if you have a word for it, it’s a word.
  • Or you can believe the internet (I did the hard work for you, so you don’t have to):

Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia, the self-declared world’s most-read reference work with 2.5 billion unique visitors a month): “Word: Part of a series on Linguistics, General linguistics, Applied linguistics, Theoretical frameworks. In linguistics, a word of a spoken language can be defined as the smallest sequence of phonemes that can be uttered in isolation with objective or practical meaning. In many languages, words also correspond to sequences of graphemes (“letters”) in their standard writing systems that are delimited by spaces wider than the normal inter-letter space, or by other graphical conventions.[1] The concept of “word” is usually distinguished from that of a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of word which has a meaning, even if it will not stand on its own together or in other small words. In many languages, the notion of what constitutes a “word” may be learned as part of learning the writing system.[1] This is the case for the English language, and for most languages that are written with alphabets derived from the ancient Latin or Greek alphabets. There still remains no consensus among linguists about the proper definition of “word” in a spoken language that is independent of its writing system, nor about the precise distinction between it and “morpheme”.[1] This issue is particularly debated for Chinese and other languages of East Asia,[2] and may be moot [clarification needed] for Afro-Asiatic languages. In English orthography, the letter sequences “rock”, “god”, “write”, “with”, “the”, “not” are considered to be single-morpheme words, whereas “rocks”, “ungodliness”, “typewriter”, and “cannot” are words composed of two or more morphemes (“rock”+”s”, “un”+”god”+”li”+”ness”, “type”+”writ”+”er”, and “can”+”not”). In English and many other languages, the morphemes that make up a word generally include at least one root (such as “rock”, “god”, “type”, “writ”, “can”, “not”) and possibly some affixes (“-s”, “un-“, “-ly”, “-ness”). Words with more than one root (“[type][writ]er”, “[cow][boy]s”, “[tele][graph]ically”) are called compound words.” Words are combined to form other elements of language, such as phrases (“a red rock”, “put up with”), clauses (“I threw a rock”), and sentences (“I threw a rock, but missed”).”

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “Word: A speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use.”

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary: “Word: A single unit of language that means something and can be spoken or written.”

Etymology Online: “Word: Speech, talk, utterance, sentence, statement, news, report, word.”

Thesaurus: “Word: discussion. Synonyms for word: conversation, talk, chat, chitchat, colloquy, confab, confabulation, consultation, discussion, tête-à-tête.”

ChatGPT: “A word is a unit of language that carries meaning and consists of one or more spoken or written sounds or symbols. It is the basic building block of communication and allows us to convey ideas, thoughts, and emotions.”

Words

You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing everything with logic. If words control you that means everyone else can control you.” – Bruce Lee

If you don’t decide how you respond to words, then you have already made a decision, haven’t you?

You can ask why.

That’s the beauty of free.

Tagged With: change, history, humanity human, quotes, words