Why do we often feel like we're living through something that's happened before? How can we deal with our fear of repeating the past? The answer can be found in understanding history's rhymes.

The reasons we recognize these rhymes are:

1. Human Nature
2. Fear
3. Dehumanization & Displaced Blame

We can judge the rhyme by asking:

1. Is this genuinely rising from the populace or being dictated top down by institutional power?
2. Does this movement promote nonviolence or violence?
3. Do the institutions respond to nonviolence with violence in any form?

And we can control our response to historical rhyme by asking:

1. What is making me anxious and fearful? Where did it come from?
2. Did it happen to you or to an abstract collective?
3. Where am I getting the information that is making me feel this way?

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For a rare opportunity to dive deep into Vesper’s books, live with the author, register now for the new VESPERiSMS BOOK CLUB at https://www.vesperillustration.com/bookclubpromo!

Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself is the podcast to help you make sense of your place in this crazy world by reclaiming an artistic worldview. Everything around us is trying to push us into boxes, but that's not how artists' minds work. Let's get off that detour and back on the main road to thinking for ourselves: as artists.

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BERLINERS is coming, Fall 2022 from Knopf! Pre-order your copy now!

My other books, including What the Night Sings, A Cloud of Outrageous Blue and A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, can be found at any bookseller—I recommend your local indie bookstore, who would love your support.

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Music for Vesperisms is provided by Ben + Vesper.