We are free to think.

However, how we think may be less our choice than we might think.

Look back at your origins. It gave you a first idea of how to relate to others and an idea of the people you’ll like and those you don’t like.

The people relevant to you then helped you distinguish between good and bad. It’s contributing to the choices you are making today.

Once you started traveling, you might have realized how different things can be. It starts with nature that swiftly changes from one zone to another. It continues with architecture, food, and many other details.

Often the source of such differences are nature and tradition. Nature creates necessities, like paying attention to water in one area and fire in another. This shapes what is available to eat and how much. Emerging from this are traditions that people passed on from one generation to the next. Myths, stories, and teachings supported survival. It may be as simple as how one relates to nature or members of the community.

It’s a big part of where our “Weltanschaung” comes from, i.e., how we see the world.

It’s a process where new decisions usually follow earlier decisions.

However, that dynamic only remains active until we make ourselves aware of the origins of our thinking and of how we think.