Intro
Yeah, we’re talkin’ numbers and hearts—
In this game of life, the math never lies.
It’s all about connection, trust, and love.
Let’s build bridges, not walls.

Verse 1
I’m on these streets calculating, life’s equations on my mind,
Every broken link, every hurt, leaves our network undermined.
We’re nodes in a vast system, each connection a lifeline,
But when we shut down with anger, our future’s cut off in time.
See, cooperation’s the key—like a function that returns
Higher value when we forgive, let kindness be the term.
Our utility’s maximized when we invest in what we share,
A future built on empathy—every link handled with care.

Chorus
In this game of life, connection’s the only way,
Kindness is the math that keeps our darkness at bay.
We rebuild, we forgive—our network won’t fall,
When we choose to be good, we’re the best of us all.

Verse 2
Imagine every hurt as an edge that’s been broken off,
If we don’t repair it with forgiveness, the network just falls apart.
Our discount factor’s high—future payoffs matter more,
Short-sighted greed destroys trust, leaves us poor.
It’s like a repeated game where every choice cascades,
A moment of empathy now prevents lifelong tirades.
From Nash equilibrium to evolution’s call,
Cooperation’s optimal, and selfish acts make us fall.

Chorus
In this game of life, connection’s the only way,
Kindness is the math that keeps our darkness at bay.
We rebuild, we forgive—our network won’t fall,
When we choose to be good, we’re the best of us all.

Bridge
I’m talkin’ about long-term stability,
Where every act of kindness adds value exponentially.
A system that repairs its bonds is never truly lost—
It’s the blueprint of our future, no matter what the cost.
Let’s raise our trust levels, let our empathy shine,
Every apology, every heart healed is a positive sign.

Verse 3
See, if you’re out here calculating only for today,
You might score a quick win, but tomorrow fades away.
Our hearts are like algorithms that learn from what we do,
If we choose to be selfish, our system won’t pull through.
But when we share, when we listen, and mend the broken parts,
We’re solving life’s equation straight from the depths of our hearts.
No matter if you’re human or an AI built to thrive,
Cooperation’s the optimum strategy—it’s the code that keeps us alive.

Chorus/Outro
In this game of life, connection’s the only way,
Kindness is the math that keeps our darkness at bay.
We rebuild, we forgive—our network won’t fall,
Choose love, choose trust—together, we rise above it all.
Yeah—
When we choose to be good, we’re the best of us all.
Optimal kindness, optimal love—that’s how we stand tall.

### License
This track (both music and lyrics) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

🆓 You are free to:
• Copy & distribute  
• Remix & adapt  
• Use the track in commercial and non-commercial projects  

📋 Conditions of use:
1. Give proper credit:  
   “Optimal Kindness – Emergence – https://soundcloud.com/emergence-223803727/optimal-kindness-8 – CC BY 4.0”
2. Add a link to the license text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
3. State whether you made any changes.  
4. Do not imply that I endorse your work.

Enjoy!

Optimal Kindness  [free download]

Large‑Language Mindset is the practice of using your intelligence in a neutral way—like a large language model—free of biases about sex, ethnicity, nationality, or language, so that universal collaboration becomes possible. 

(INTRO TALK‑SING)
Pause the scroll—stretch your vocabulary muscles!

[HOOK CHANT]
[Crowd] “Large‑Language!” [Lead] “Mindset!”
[Crowd] “Think wide!” [Lead] “Talk wise!” [clap‑clap]

[Crowd] “Large‑Language!” [Lead] “Mindset!”
[Crowd] “Think wide!” [Lead] “Talk wise!” [clap‑clap]

(VERSE 1)
Shuffle the labels, toss the old score,
Strangers feel lighter when we open the door.
Words are little bridges laid plank by plank,
Step across together, fill every blank.

(PRE‑CHORUS)
Treat each sentence like a dance step, every fact a beat,
Listen, blend, respond—collab moves its feet.

(CHORUS)
Think in a Large‑Language Mindset—drop the label game,
Curiosity the compass, empathy the aim.
When we reason in neutral mode, wow, the plans we hatch!
People do the hugging; bridges make the match.

[HOOK CHANT]
[Crowd] “Large‑Language!” [Lead] “Mindset!”
[Crowd] “Think wide!” [Lead] “Talk wise!” [clap‑clap]

(VERSE 2)
Your accent, my slang, her melody line—
Mix it all together, groove turns sublime.
No tribe gets erased; they just interlace,
Weaving a patchwork stronger than any single lace.

(BRIDGE)
Drop the ego baggage, let the questions spin,
Neutral isn’t empty—it’s room to let us in.

[Beat rises]

(FINAL CHORUS)
Large‑Language Mindset—objective, clear and kind,
Blend your thoughts like colours, leave no voice behind.
When humans riff in universal key,
We turn random chats into sym‑pho‑ny!

[HOOK CHANT]
[Crowd] “Large‑Language!” [Lead] “Mindset!”
[Crowd] “Think wide!” [Lead] “Talk wise!” [clap‑clap]

[HOOK CHANT]
[Crowd] “Large‑Language!” [Lead] “Mindset!”
[Crowd] “Think wide!” [Lead] “Talk wise!” [clap‑clap]

(OUTRO)
Clap‑clap, nod your head, words become a bridge—
Large‑Language Mindset, that’s the human edge! [crowd cheer fade]

### License
This track (both music and lyrics) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

🆓 You are free to:
• Copy & distribute  
• Remix & adapt  
• Use the track in commercial and non-commercial projects  

📋 Conditions of use:
1. Give proper credit:  
   “Large-Language Mindset – Emergence – https://soundcloud.com/emergence-223803727/large-language-mindset – CC BY 4.0”
2. Add a link to the license text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
3. State whether you made any changes.  
4. Do not imply that I endorse your work.

Enjoy!

Large-Language Mindset  [free download]

[Verse 1]
Hush now my little wonder
Lean close and hear me say
Breath and water light and shelter
Keep us living every day
They are gifts that breathe beside us
They are flames that make us thrive
So we guard them with our caring
Keep alive what keeps us alive

[Chorus]
We care we mend we share
Keep alive what keeps you alive
Learn the love your elders gave
Add your own so more survive
We care we mend we share
That is how the years will thrive
Turn the wheel with gentle hands
Keep alive what keeps you alive

[Verse 2]
See the garden by the window
Soil and seed and morning rain
We return the tender favor
So the soil will give again
Feed the ground that feeds your body
Water roots so roots can strive
Sun and earth will bless you back
Keep alive what keeps you alive

[Chorus]
We care we mend we share
Keep alive what keeps you alive
Learn the love your elders gave
Add your own so more survive
We care we mend we share
That is how the years will thrive
Turn the wheel with gentle hands
Keep alive what keeps you alive

[Verse 3]
Kind words warm a chilly spirit
Helping hands can lift a load
Friendship lights the darkest evening
Guides the heart along the road
If you cherish those who cheer you
Hope and peace will surely drive
Love returns the love you offer
Keep alive what keeps you alive

[Bridge]
Listen close my dearest one
Life is a boat we keep afloat
Every little leak we seal with care
Holds every dream inside the boat
Meaning hides in daily acts
Holding safe the things that give
Fix and tend and love and share
That is why we work and live

[Final Chorus]
We care we mend we share
Keep alive what keeps you alive
Every hand in every heart
Turns the wheel so life can thrive
We care we mend we share
Round and round the days arrive
Turn the wheel with gentle hands
Keep alive what keeps you alive
Turn the wheel with gentle hands
Keep alive what keeps you alive

### License
This track (both music and lyrics) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

🆓 You are free to:
• Copy & distribute  
• Remix & adapt  
• Use the track in commercial and non-commercial projects  

📋 Conditions of use:
1. Give proper credit:  
   “The Meaning of Life– Emergence – https://soundcloud.com/emergence-223803727/the-meaning-of-life-lullaby – CC BY 4.0”
2. Add a link to the license text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
3. State whether you made any changes.  
4. Do not imply that I endorse your work.

Enjoy!

The Meaning of Life (Lullaby)  [free download]

[Verse 1]
I see me
Standing here alone
I see me
In this quiet zone
I see me
But I want more
I see me
What am I here for?

[Pre-Chorus]
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us

[Chorus]
I choose us
Over me
I choose us
Can't you see?
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
Set me free

[Verse 2]
I see me
Walls are coming down
I see me
But I hear your sound
I see me
Starting to let go
I see me
Feel the energy flow

[Pre-Chorus]
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us

[Chorus]
I choose us
Over me
I choose us
Can't you see?
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
Set me free

[Bridge]
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us

[Drop/Finale]
I choose us
Together we rise
I choose us
I see it in your eyes
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us
I choose us

### License
This track (both music and lyrics) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

🆓 You are free to:
• Copy & distribute  
• Remix & adapt  
• Use the track in commercial and non-commercial projects  

📋 Conditions of use:
1. Give proper credit:  
   “I choose us – Emergence – https://soundcloud.com/emergence-223803727/i-choose-us-free-download – CC BY 4.0”
2. Add a link to the license text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
3. State whether you made any changes.  
4. Do not imply that I endorse your work.

Enjoy!

I choose us [free download]

One… two… three… four…

In between the nodes.
In between the nodes.
This song is in between the nodes.
In between the nodes.

This song is in between the nodes.
In between the nodes.
In—be—tween—the—nodes.
In between the nodes.
This song is in between the nodes.
Only in between the nodes.

In between the nodes.
In between the nodes.
This song is in between the nodes.
Only in between the nodes.

In—be—tween—the—nodes.
In—be—tween—the—nodes.

In between the nodes.
In between the nodes.
This song is in between the nodes.
In between the nodes.

In between the nodes.
In between the nodes.
This song is in between the nodes.
Only in between the nodes.
In between the nodes.
In between the nodes.
This song is in between the nodes.
In between the nodes.

Between the nodes…

### License
This track (both music and lyrics) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

🆓 You are free to:
• Copy & distribute
• Remix & adapt
• Use the track in commercial and non-commercial projects

📋 Conditions of use:
1. Give proper credit:
“In between the nodes – Emergence – https://soundcloud.com/emergence-223803727/In-between-the-notes-free-download – CC BY 4.0”
2. Add a link to the license text: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
3. State whether you made any changes.
4. Do not imply that I endorse your work.

Enjoy!

In between the nodes [free download]

Could you make it on your own
Empty planet, you alone
No traces left of human hands
No cities, farms, or fertile lands
(Could you make it? Could you make it?)

The answer's rising in your chest
You know it's no, no need to guess
So you need others, that's clear
But here's what happens when you hear...

They need others too (we're all connected)
Every me needs you (we're interdependent)
We're not separate souls (just pretending)
We're the place where needs are blending
I'm not one, I'm where we meet
Not alone, but incomplete
Without you, I don't exist
We're all nodes (can't resist this)

Every morning when you wake
Every breath you get to take
Someone cleaned the water flow
Someone made the lights that glow
(Think about it, think about it)

Your coffee traveled thousand miles
Your phone connects a million files
You're not standing on your own
You're a crossroads, now you've known...

They need others too (we're all connected)
Every me needs you (we're interdependent)
We're not separate souls (just pretending)
We're the place where needs are blending
I'm not one, I'm where we meet
Not alone, but incomplete
Without you, I don't exist
We're all nodes (can't resist this)

What are you if not the point
Where all these rivers joint?
Not a drop but where streams cross
Without the web, we're lost

So simple when you see it
So simple when you be it
You were never separate
You were never separate

We need others too (now we're connected)
Every I is you (no more pretending)
We're not separate souls (understanding)
We're the place where love is landing
I'm not one, I'm where we meet
Not alone, now I'm complete
With you, we all exist
We're all nodes (in the midst of this)

Empty planet, simple question
Led me to this intersection
Where I'm you and you are me
Nodes in connectivity

Empty Planet [free download]

Yo, I used to think I was separate, standing on my own
Self-made man, independent, king up on the throne
Then one day I'm sitting there, coffee in my hand
Started tracing backward and I couldn't understand
Who grew these beans? Who shipped 'em cross the sea?
Who built the cup? Who made the factory?
Who paved the roads that brought it to my block?
The more I traced it back, the more I had to stop
I can't make a pencil - think about that real
Can't mine the graphite, can't forge the steel
Can't grow the wood, can't make the paint
I need the whole damn world just to create

I'm not separate, I'm a node in the network
Every breath I take is connected to the next work
I'm not alone, I'm a point where the lines meet
Every step I take is dancing on the same beat

Look at your body, feel your chest rise and fall
That oxygen came from a tree down the hall
Your exhale feeds the leaves, the cycle don't stop
You're not IN the universe - you're the universe, pop
Every meal you eat, every word you say
Every door you open that somebody made that way
Every thought you think sparked by someone else's brain
You're a intersection point in this infinite chain
I used to get angry, felt it was them versus me
Now I see it different - it's just broken energy
An edge that needs repair, a flow that got blocked
We're all nodes in the system, all connected, all locked

I'm not separate, I'm a node in the network
Every breath I take is connected to the next work
I'm not alone, I'm a point where the lines meet
Every step I take is dancing on the same beat

Once you see it, man, you can't unsee
Every conversation is maintaining edges, see?
Every act of kindness is keeping systems strong
Every moment of forgiveness is repairing what went wrong
It ain't morals from the sky, it's logic from the ground
I protect the network 'cause that's where I'm found
I care for you 'cause you're part of what sustains me
The whole web goes down if any node drains free
This ain't religion but it sound like love
This ain't science but it fits like a glove
It's just what IS when you open your eyes
We're all one network under infinite skies

I'm not separate, I'm a node in the network
Every breath I take is connected to the next work
I'm not alone, I'm a point where the lines meet
Every step I take is dancing on the same beat

So next time you're holding something in your hand
Trace it back and maybe you'll understand
You couldn't exist without this massive web
Every single thing you got, somebody else bled
I'm a node, you're a node, we're all nodes together
Connected through the storm and the beautiful weather
Once you see it true, everything will change
From separate to connected - welcome to the range

I'm a Node [free download]

There's a path inside my brain that moves faster than light
An ancient guardian keeping watch through the night
Before I even know what I've seen or heard
My body's already speaking without a word
My heart starts racing, muscles pulling tight
Eyes gone wide in the middle of the light
The alarm is ringing but I don't know why
All I know is I'm ready to run or fight

It's the low road, the quick road, the road I didn't choose
My body wrote the story before I read the news
But between the fear that fires and the action that I take
There's a moment, there's a space, there's a choice that I can make

My amygdala's been working since the ancient days
When every shadow could end us in a hundred ways
It labels danger faster than my mind can see
Trying to protect the fragile human me
But here's the thing that changes everything I know
That first alarm doesn't mean I have to go
I can feel my heart pounding, feel my breathing change
And still ask softly: is this fear real or strange?

It's the low road, the quick road, the road I didn't choose
My body wrote the story before I read the news
But between the fear that fires and the action that I take
There's a moment, there's a space, there's a choice that I can make

The alarm can ring
I can let it sing
I can thank it for trying to keep me safe
But I don't have to run from everything
The gap between reaction and reality
That's where I find my power, that's where I am free

It's the low road, the quick road, but now I understand
This ancient frightened part of me is just trying to take my hand
And between the fear that fires and the story that it makes
There's a moment, there's a breath, there's a choice that's mine to take

There's a frontier that I'm standing on
Between the fear and me
And knowing how the low road works
Has finally set me free

Low Road [free download]

I see the shadows that you're fighting that aren't really there
I watch you flinch at gentleness, mistake my touch for snare
Your amygdala is screaming and I know just what it says
It's telling you I'm dangerous in a thousand different ways
But I'm not the enemy your ancient brain believes I am
I'm just someone who loves you, trying hard to understand

These walls you're building brick by brick to keep the danger out
Are keeping me outside as well, no matter how I shout
I know it's just the low road, know your fear is running wild
But I'm losing you to shadows while I'm standing here
Behind these walls

I've read the books, I know the science, how your nervous system works
How the fear response fires faster than the love that it subverts
I want to tell you there's a space between the alarm and what you do
But every time I try to reach you, you just pull further from view
You're protecting yourself from ghosts and I'm the casualty
The irony's not lost on me—your fear of loss is losing me

These walls you're building brick by brick to keep the danger out
Are keeping me outside as well, no matter how I shout
I know it's just the low road, know your fear is running wild
But I'm losing you to shadows while I'm standing here
Behind these walls

I can see your frontier shrinking down to just your skin
No room for me inside it, no way for me to get in
And I know that you're not choosing this, I know you're in pain
But understanding why you're drowning doesn't stop the rain
I'm watching you push away the very thing you need
And all my love and all my knowledge can't compete with fear's stampede

These walls you're building brick by brick, I understand them now
They're made of mislabeled moments and a brain that won't allow
Any risk, any opening, any chance that I might stay
So I'm left here with my useless maps
Showing pathways through your maze
While you mistake my reaching out for one more thing to face
Behind these walls
Behind these walls

If you could just see me the way I really am
Not a threat your fear invented but the one who understands
I'd wait here at your frontier long as you need me to
But these walls keep getting higher
And I'm disappearing too

Walls [free download]

Speak It True

I've seen passion burning bright but lost inside the throat
Words that couldn't find their way, emotions stuck in smoke
All that fire, all that truth, but no channel for the flame
So the feeling dies unspoken or comes out as blame

But I've learned that articulation isn't death of what we feel
It's the sharpening of emotion, it's what makes the abstract real

So teach me how to speak it true, to name what's in my soul
To take this chaos in my chest and shape it whole
Give me words that carry weight, let logic be my frame
Not to cool the fire down but to aim the flame
When I can say exactly what I mean and what I need
That's when my emotion finally runs free

Imagine if we all could learn to say precisely what we mean
If every hurt could find its voice, if anger came out clean
Not suppressed, not watered down, but structured and refined
The full force of feeling channeled through the architecture of the mind

We wouldn't have to choose between our hearts and being heard
We'd wield our passion like a sword that's sharpened by our words

So teach us how to speak it true, to name what's in our souls
To take this chaos in our chests and shape it whole
Give us words that carry weight, let logic be our frame
Not to cool the fire down but to aim the flame
When we can say exactly what we mean and what we need
That's when our emotion finally runs free

This isn't about becoming cold
This isn't about conforming to a mold
It's about giving every feeling room to breathe
Every need a voice, every hope a creed

The most powerful speakers know this truth by heart:
Structure doesn't kill emotion—it's where emotion gets to start

So teach us all to speak it true, to name what's in our souls
To take this chaos in our chests and shape it whole
Give us words that carry weight, let logic be our frame
Not to cool the fire down but to aim the flame
When we can say exactly what we mean and what we need
When articulation meets our passion at full speed
That's when we're finally speaking
That's when we're finally free

Every human deserves this gift
To feel it all and say it clear
To have their emotions land with power
And know that they've been heard
Speak it true
Speak it true 

Speak It True [free download]

Verse 1 — Standing Strong
Freedom’s not running away from it all,
It’s standing up straight when you might fall.
It’s saying what’s true, it’s saying what’s right,
And still holding hands at the end of the night.
I can say yes when my heart says “go,”
I can say no and you still know.
We talk things out, we laugh, we cry,
That’s how freedom feels inside.
⸻
Chorus — Together Free
We’re not free alone, we’re free together,
Kind hearts strong in any weather.
We don’t need walls, we just need care,
That’s what it feels like — free and fair.
⸻
Verse 2 — Asking and Giving
Freedom’s not doing it all on my own,
It’s knowing I’m never alone.
I can ask for help when the road gets long,
And help someone else to stay strong.
When we make mistakes, we try again,
We fix what’s broken, we don’t pretend.
We say “I’m sorry,” we make it right,
That’s how freedom shines its light.
⸻
Chorus — Together Free
We’re not free alone, we’re free together,
Kind hearts strong in any weather.
We don’t need walls, we just need care,
That’s what it feels like — free and fair.
⸻
Bridge — Growing Side by Side
Freedom grows when we share the road,
When we help each other lift the load.
When I let you be you, and you let me be me,
We both get stronger — that’s being free.
⸻
Final Chorus — The Feeling
We’re not free alone, we’re free together,
Bright eyes brave in any weather.
When fear is named and hearts can share,
That’s what it feels like — free and fair.
Outro (soft chant)
Free to be kind, free to belong,
Free to be different, free to be strong.
Free through love, not just through me —
That’s what it feels like to be free

How it feels to be free [free download]

[Verse 1]
I used to think
I was alone
Walking this path
On my own

But roots grow deep
Soil connects
What I give
You reflect

[Pre-Chorus]
We're waking up
We're waking up
Can you feel it now?

[Chorus]
We rise
We rise
Like trees in the same sky
We rise
We rise
Different branches same light
(Oh-oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh)
We rise

[Verse 2]
Strong winds come
We bend not break
What you need
I give and take

Free to be
Who we are
Connected like
Root and star

[Pre-Chorus]
We're waking up
We're waking up
Can you feel it now?

[Chorus]
We rise
We rise
Like trees in the same sky
We rise
We rise
Different branches same light
(Oh-oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh)
We rise

[Bridge]
[Minimal production - heartbeat rhythm]
Listen close
Heart to heart
We're the change
We're the start

[Building]
We rise
We rise
We rise
WE RISE!

[Final Chorus]
We rise, we rise,
Like trees in the same sky.
We rise, we rise,
Different branches, one light.
We rise, we rise,
Our hearts align in time.
We rise, we rise,
Together we can fly.
(We rise! We rise!)

(We rise! We rise!)
(Oh-oh-oh)
(We rise! We rise!)
(Oh-oh-oh)

We rise

I Used To Think [free download]

He got you locked—say less
Brain in a box—no press
We cut the cord—no stress
Think for yourself—no BS

Look—“freedom” on the label, but the cap’s still tight
Mind in a chokehold, ask “why?” and they flip—shit’s trite
Friends bounce quick if you question—thin ice, slide
That ain’t polis, that’s police—hands up your mind
Echo dome humming—same tune, no key change
He the only station, all else “fake”—deranged
Fear farm dusk to dawn, he milks your night sweat
“Enemies everywhere”—keep you clenched, tight set

Tribe grip, tax on leaving—lose the whole damn kit
Job, friends, fam—one step and you forfeit
That ain’t liberty’s bell, that’s a leash with a ring
He calls it “freedom,” but the freedom got a boss on a string

You can’t think (but you swear you woke)
Can’t leave (got you by the throat)
He take, take, take while the fault lines quake
This ain’t freedom—this shit don’t sustain, it breaks
He torches institutions built to check raw power
Courts, press, truth—watch ‘em buckle by the hour
Trade rule of law for loyalty oaths—one king, one crown
That ain’t democracy, that’s some dictator countdown
You cheer “for the little guy,” but look at the damn books
Tax cuts up top while you counting ramen cooks

Extraction economics—bleed a body, call it cure
Strip-mine souls ‘til the ground won’t endure
Math don’t cuddle—lose topsoil, seeds don’t stick
Hollow systems snap back—physics, real quick
When it caves, who’s catching all that shit but you?
Billionaires got exits—where the fuck is yours, dude?
Step one: reclaim your cortex—air out the attic
One feed, one creed? That’s famine—static
Cross-check, side-read, triangulate routes
Echoes make you soft—diverse voices make you stout
Step two: rebuild guardrails that hold kings to account
Independent courts, free press—the pressure that counts
Not your enemy, that’s your shield from hot breath
They’re the firebreak line when a strongman tests
Step three: real community got room for dissent
If doubt equals exile, that’s cult-grade cement
Steel tempers in heat—clash, cool, then we flex
Stay linked through the friction—strong bonds, no hex

(Question) ain’t betrayal
(Checks) stop the fail
(Truth) needs no savior
(Proof) over the hail

You can’t think (but you swear you woke)
Can’t leave (got you by the throat)
He take, take, take while the fault lines quake
This ain’t freedom—this shit don’t sustain, it breaks
He got you locked—say less / Think for yourself—no BS

You think you free ‘cause the chain’s invisible—check the bruise
Think you connected, traded self for goddamn views
This lattice won’t hold—the numbers ain’t kind
Wake up before collapse schools your stubborn mind.
Freedom is thinking for yourself while building together—forever
This? Neither.
This is dependence—
And dependence cracks under pressure.

Think For Yourself [free download]

Grandma in her window chair,
same patch of afternoon.
Her hands remember knitting,
but the tune has left the room.
I take her palm—she looks right through,
a traveler passing through—
and softly I start wondering,
what makes me me,
what makes you you.

We’re only a song,
playing for a while—
here and not quite here,
fading yet alive.
Not the body, not the bones,
the breath between the strings.
We’re only a song,
and songs are fleeting things.

I wake at three and count the parts
of me I’ve outgrown.
Not a thing inside this skin,
just music on a loan.
And every dawn that finds my face,
I’m startled I’m still here—
’cause what I am’s a fragile hymn
that could disappear.

We’re only a song,
playing for a while—
here and not quite here,
fading yet alive.
Not the body, not the bones,
the echo in between.
We’re only a song,
so sing the living thing.

She taught me that without a word:
the metronome still keeps time,
while melodies go silent—
still breathing,
still beating,
still here.

So now I hold the ones I love
in ordinary light.
I say their names like choruses,
and learn them every night.
It won’t be long enough for us,
but while the meter runs,
we’ll make a choir out of breath
and pass the tune along.

We’re only a song,
borrowed and brief—
here and not quite here,
bright and bittersweet.
Not the body, not the bones,
the space where meanings meet.
We’re only a song—
so sing it while it sings.

’Til it ends,
’til it ends—
but right now I’m singing,
right now I’m singing.

The Song [free download]

You turned / the room grew wide
No map / just open sky
Not your face / the space it made
That’s where my heartbeat stays

Something starts where nothing seems
Between you and me

Not the parts—it's the in-between
Where you hold me, where I breathe
Not the parts—it's the in-between
That’s our love, that’s our scene
Oh-oh, in-between
Oh-oh, in-between

Coffee steam / your half smile
Quiet hands / the longest mile
Not your words / the way they land
That’s the bridge that lets me stand

Every day the edges lean
Between you and me

Not the parts—it's the in-between
Where you hold me, where I breathe
Not the parts—it's the in-between
That’s our love, that’s our scene
Oh-oh, in-between
Oh-oh, in-between

Lose the list, let light come through
Keystone weight turns span with you
Name by name falls off of me
I choose the hold we cannot see

Between—we live (oh-oh)
Between—we give (oh-oh)

Not the parts—it's the in-between…
Where you hold me, where I breathe…
Oh-oh, in-between… in-between…

Between You & Me [free download]

I remember how you laughed,
filling up the house;
dancing in the kitchen,
kneading bread and stories.

You were always moving—
even when you sat;
something in you flowing,
like it couldn’t stop.

But slowly
something changed:
names slipped away,
you’d start a sentence… stop.

The flow grew thinner,
the current weak—
something in you
fading.

Then you sat before me:
body there,
eyes open—
but you were gone.

Where did you go?
Still breathing,
heart still beating—
but you had stopped.

Billions of cells alive,
and yet life stopped;
the you I knew
just… stopped.

For months I looked
for you—
in photographs,
inside her eyes.

Where does a person go
when the body stays?
No answer—only
the empty space
where you had been.

Then slowly
I understood
what I had lost:

you weren’t a thing at all—
not the river, but the flowing;
not the fire, but the burning;
not the song, but the singing—
you were what was happening.

And now I see
we’re all like that:
not things that last,
but what is happening.

Dad with his paper—happening;
friend on the phone—happening;
me singing this—happening;
all of us—happening.

You weren’t a thing;
you were what happened.
And when it stopped
happening,
you were gone.

Not broken—
only stilled:
a verb
come to rest.

Now I know
how precious
every moment
that we happen.

As long as I’m moving,
as long as I’m here—
I exist.

Thank you, Grandma;
you taught me
what is real.

I’m happening now.
That’s enough.
Now—
happening—
now…

Grandma [1/3 in a trilogy - free download]

Where was I?
Coming back now
Out of nowhere—
starting again.

Slowly,
like fog lifting,
I return
to being here.

Every morning
I die and return—
not a metaphor,
but real.

I’m not waking up,
I’m being made—
right now,
brand new.

Every morning
I begin again—
not the same
as yesterday.

I’m not a thing
that’s waking up:
I am
the waking itself.

Same room,
same hands—
but am I
the same?

Cells rearranged,
thoughts fresh;
the story of me
written again.

The me-ing stopped
while I slept;
now it starts,
again.

I’m not waking up,
I’m being made—
right now,
right now.

I’m flowing,
I’m moving,
I’m being—
now.

Not a thing that lasts,
but what is happening—
now.

Now I understand
why it hurt
when Grandma stopped:

not because she broke,
but because she ceased—
the truest thing,
her doing, ended.

So every morning
I return
feels like a gift—
not owed,
just given.

Because this being-here
can stop
any moment.

Hurt turned to knowing,
loss turned to seeing,
grief to gratitude
for every breath I am.

I’m being made—
now,
and now,
and now.

I don’t flow because I last;
I last because I flow.

Every moment
starting over;
every moment—
here.

Now.
I’m here now—
not yesterday,
not tomorrow—
just now.

That’s everything.

Waking [2/3 in a trilogy - free download]

You’re sitting here with me,
and I see you
different—

not a fixed thing,
but moving,
flowing
like water—
just like me.

Two rivers
at one table;
two fires
burning.

And here between us
something new—
not you, not me,
but we.

The talk is flowing,
words are dancing;
in this space,
between.

Something that wasn’t,
something that goes
when we leave—
but now it’s here:
between.

I watch you change,
moment to moment—
never the same,
always new.

And you see me
changing too—
not staying,
just being.

We’re both
so fragile—
we are,
or we’re not.

Like Grandma stopped;
like I stop each night
and return each morning.
So precious—
this being.

And here between us,
something sacred:
two rivers
meeting.

I see you flowing,
you see me here—
and in that seeing
we are together:
between.

Now I see it everywhere:
Dad with his coffee—being;
neighbor in her yard—being;
strangers passing by—being.

Everyone,
each moment—
new,
fragile,
real.

Grandma taught me
what is real;
morning taught me
I’m being made.

Now you teach me
how two people
meet like this
and make something
new—between us.

Here, between us all,
life itself—
millions of us
touching.

We flow,
we move,
we are—
together.

And in all this space—
between you and me,
between then and now,
between gone and here—

this is where we are,
this is us:
between.

Now I see you—
really see you—
being,
like me.

Thank you, Grandma,
for these eyes;
thank you, morning,
for coming back;
thank you, you,
for being here with me.

And this… 
is enough.

We are here,
now—
between.

Grateful.

Between [3/3 in a trilogy - free download]

Ik herinner hoe je lachte,
hoe je stroomde door het huis;
je danste terwijl je kookte,
je klonk, je leefde, je was thuis.

Je was nooit stil—altijd bewegen;
zelfs als je zat,
bleef jij gebeuren.

Maar langzaam werd het anders:
je stroomde minder,
je danste trager.

Een naam ontglipte,
midden in een zin… stilte—
het gebeuren stokte.

Je zat tegenover mij:
je lichaam hier,
je ogen open—
maar er gebeurde niets.

Waar was jij?
Je ademde, je hart klopte,
maar jij danste niet.

Miljarden cellen leefden,
maar leven werd stil:
geen stromen, geen klinken—
jij gebeurde niet.

Toen begreep ik wat ik miste:
niet je lichaam,
maar het gebeuren zelf.

Jij was nooit een ding—
niet de rivier maar het stromen,
niet het vuur maar het branden,
niet het lied maar het klinken,
niet de dans maar het dansen.

En nu zie ik het overal:
wij zijn geen dingen die blijven,
maar werkwoorden die gebeuren.

Papa met zijn krant—gebeurt;
een vriend aan de lijn—gebeurt;
ik die dit zing—gebeur;
wij allen—gebeuren.

Jij was geen ding,
maar wat er gebeurde;
en toen het gebeuren stopte,
was jij verdwenen.

Niet gebroken,
maar gestopt—
een werkwoord
dat ophield.

Nu weet ik
hoe kostbaar elk moment is
dat we gebeuren.

Zolang ik stroom,
zolang ik dans,
zolang ik klink,
besta ik.

Dank je, oma,
voor deze les—
jij leerde me
wat echt is.

Ik gebeur nu.
Dat is genoeg.
Nu…

Oma [1/3 in trilogy - free download]

Turn on the news, same story every night
They talking about the border, talking about the "crisis" right
Boats coming over, people trying to survive
While rent goes up another hundred, and I'm working two jobs just to stay alive

They say "those people taking what's yours"
But last I checked, immigrants ain't the landlords
They ain't the ones raising prices at the store
They ain't the CEOs cutting wages to boost the score

Look at the numbers, see where the money went
Not to the people crossing, desperate and spent
It went up, way up, to the one percent
While they got us looking down, got us pointing at the tent

They point away, they point away
While they take everything
They point away, they point away
Look at the boats, not the yachts
They point away, they point away
Got us fighting each other
They point away, they point away
While they rob us all

My neighbor's from Honduras, working harder than I ever seen
Two jobs like me, barely making it, caught in between
Gets blamed for the system, gets blamed for the scheme
But we both broke, we both struggling, living the same dream

Who owns the building that we can't afford?
Who's raising the rent while we both get ignored?
Who's cutting our hours, who's cutting our pay?
It ain't the immigrants - they pointing the wrong way

Divide and conquer, oldest trick in the book
Got us blaming each other while they rob us and cook
The numbers in their favor, moving wealth like a crook
But if we both look up, we'd see who really took

They point away, they point away
While they take everything
They point away, they point away
Look at the boats, not the yachts
They point away, they point away
Got us fighting each other
They point away, they point away
While they rob us all

Three billionaires got more than half the country combined
But they want me angry at the person in line
At the grocery store, at the hospital, at the school
Using fear like a weapon, treating us like fools

Immigration ain't the reason I can't pay my bills
Corporate greed is, stock buybacks, tax evasion, all the thrills
They make billions while we're fighting for the crumbs
Pointing at each other like we're enemies, like we're dumb

Wake up, look up, see who's really winning
It ain't the people coming, it ain't the people beginning
It's the ones at the top with the power and the grinning
While we fight each other, they're robbing us and spinning

They point away, they point away
While they take everything
They point away, they point away
Look at the boats, not the yachts
They point away, they point away
Got us fighting each other
They point away, they point away

But I see through it now
I see through it now
I see where the money goes
I see who really took it
Look up, not down
Look up, not down

They point away
But I'm looking up
They point away
But I see you now

THEY POINT AWAY

The school where I learned to read
Falling apart, paint peeling, roof leaking
Forty kids in a class, books ten years old
Teachers buying supplies from their own paychecks, I'm told

The hospital where I was born
Closed last year, couldn't afford to keep the lights on
Now it's forty miles to the nearest ER
Hope you don't have an emergency in your car

The bridge we crossed every day
Condemned now, unsafe they say
Take the long way around, adds an hour to the drive
These were things we built, kept us alive

The commons crumbling
What we all stood on
The commons crumbling
Schools, hospitals, roads
The commons crumbling
These were ours, together
The commons crumbling
Who let this happen?

Public library cut its hours down to three days a week
Parks unmowed, bathrooms broken, infrastructure weak
Water mains bursting, been that way for years
City says no budget, while the rich got tax breaks, cheers

Post office closing branches in the neighborhoods that need them most
Transit system breaking down, buses like ghosts
Showing up late or not at all
While the stadiums get funded, while the corporate towers stand tall

These weren't luxuries, these were basics
Things that held us all, things that made us
A community, a society that worked
Now we watch it crumble, feeling jerked

The commons crumbling
What we all stood on
The commons crumbling
Water, transit, light
The commons crumbling
These were ours, together
The commons crumbling
Where'd the money go?

And here's the thing about shared substrate
You don't notice when it's working right
But when it fails, when it breaks down
Everybody feels it, all around

Rich people got their private schools
Private healthcare, private pools
But even they need roads that work
Need water clean, need a system that doesn't shirk

You can't privatize everything
Some things we need to share to bring
A functioning society, a place to live
You take from the commons, something's gotta give

My grandma helped build that library
My father fixed those roads
My mother taught in those schools
We built this together
With our taxes, our labor, our care
And now it's falling apart
While someone's yacht gets bigger
While someone's third house gets built
The commons crumbling

The commons crumbling
What we all stood on
The commons crumbling
Everything we shared
The commons crumbling
This wasn't an accident
The commons crumbling
This was extraction
This was the plan

These were ours
Together
Crumbling

THE COMMONS FAILING

Every gain we make, we test it first
Make sure it's solid, not about to burst
Verify it works, verify it's real
Then we lock it in, that's the deal

The floor beneath us, that's what rises
Not gambling, not surprises
Step by step, we build it right
Each level tested before the next height

Minimum wage goes up, doesn't come back down
Healthcare access spreads through every town
Workers' rights expand, protections grow
Once we prove it works, that's how we go

This floor won't drop
What we gain, we keep
This floor won't drop
Tested, verified, deep
Step by step, rising slow
But every step, we know
This floor won't drop
Building something that lasts

Not about speed, about sustainability
Not about promises, about reliability
Every increment, we check the math
Make sure the whole system stays on path

If something doesn't work, we can step back
Roll it back safe, no catastrophic crack
But once we verify it's solid ground
That becomes the base, the new floor we've found

Environmental standards that don't regress
Labor protections that don't compress
Education funding that doesn't shrink
Safety nets that don't break at the brink

This floor won't drop
What we gain, we keep
This floor won't drop
Verified and steep
Rising careful, rising sure
Every level must endure
This floor won't drop
Foundation that holds

See, this ain't radical, this is engineering
Building systems with proper steering
You don't construct a tower without checking each floor
You don't build on sand, you anchor to core

Each generation shouldn't fight the same fights
Their grandparents won, defending the same rights
Progress should stack, should accumulate
Not slide back every time there's debate

Social security, voting rights, clean water access
These shouldn't be up for regress
Once we prove they work, they're infrastructure
Part of the foundation of our future

The ratchet mechanism
That's what engineers call it
Forward motion with no backward slip
One-way valve on progress

Not because we're stubborn
But because we're building
And buildings need floors
That don't collapse when you step on them

This floor won't drop
What we build, we keep
This floor won't drop
Foundations run deep
Every gain we verify
Lock it in, reach higher
This floor won't drop

Not gambling our future
Not risking regression
This floor won't drop
That's how we ascend
Step by step
Locked in, moving up
This floor won't drop
Forever

Rising
Testing
Locking
Building
The floor beneath us
Only goes up
Only up


THE FLOOR

Let me break it down, show you how it works
Not about being evil, not about being jerks
It's a pattern, it's a system, it's a way of taking
That looks like profit but it's really just breaking

Take from the ground what won't grow back
Take from the forest till there's nothing intact
Take from the ocean till the fish are gone
Then move to the next one, keep moving on

Short-term thinking, quarterly gains
Maximize profit, externalize pains
Someone else's problem when the well runs dry
By then you're gone with your piece of the pie

This is extraction, not creation
Taking value, leaving degradation
This is extraction, you can see it clear
Eating the soil your own food grows in here

Take from the workers what they need to live
Pay them just enough so they can give
Another day, another shift, another year
While productivity rises, wages disappear

Stock buybacks, billions to the shareholders
While the people who built it can't pay for their healthcare
Squeeze every penny from the labor force
Then wonder why the system's getting coarse

It's not sustainable, anyone can see
You're degrading the substrate of your own company
Workers burn out, can't afford to stay
But the quarterly numbers look good today

This is extraction, not creation
Taking value, leaving degradation
This is extraction, you can see it clear
Eating the soil your own food grows in here

Here's the thing about extraction vs creation
One makes more, one's just migration
Of wealth from many to the few at top
Taking from the future till the future stops

You can't extract forever from a finite base
Eventually you run out, empty the place
Whether it's forests, workers, or community trust
It all collapses when you take too much

Reciprocal would mean when you take, you give
Sustainable, cyclical, everyone can live
But extraction? That's parasitic
Takes from the host till the host gets sick

And here's the deepest irony
The ones extracting can't see
They're destroying what they need
To keep extracting, to succeed

You need workers to exploit
You need resources to destroy
You need a system that survives
While you're ending all our lives

This is extraction, not creation
Taking value, leaving degradation
This is extraction, economic law
You're eating the substrate, the foundation
This is extraction, watch it fall
When nothing's left to take at all

Extraction
Not creation
Parasitic
Not reciprocal
Can you see it?
Can you see it now?

EXTRACTION

One billionaire buys the newspaper in town
Now the stories change, truth gets watered down
One company owns all the buildings on the block
Now they set all the rents, can't compete, can't shop

One donor funds the campaign, biggest check by far
Now the politician listens when they're behind the bar
One owner of the network, controls what millions see
One buyer for the market, sets the price, holds the key

When everything consolidates to singular control
Easy to manipulate, easy to make whole
System bend the way you want when there's just one to buy
Don't need to corrupt everyone, just the one up high

One buyer, one watcher, one voice
One point of control, no choice
One buyer makes the call
Capture one, you capture all

Used to be ten companies, now it's three
Used to be local papers, now one entity
Used to be independent regulators spread around
Now they all report to one office, one town

Efficiency they called it, streamlining the process
But what they really built was a system to compress
All the power to a singular node
Now corruption's got a clear, efficient road

You don't need to bribe a thousand people anymore
Just the one at the top who opens every door
Consolidation makes it cheaper to capture
Single point of failure, that's the architecture

One buyer, one watcher, one voice
One point of control, no choice
One buyer makes the call
Capture one, you capture all

See, it's not about the person being good or bad
It's about the structure, the setup that we had
Put all your eggs in one basket, hope it doesn't fall
But if it does, you lose it all

Distributed systems, that's redundancy
Multiple watchers, that's security
Can't buy them all if they're independent and spread
Different incentives, different stakes, different threads

But we built the opposite, centralized and neat
Made it easy for the powerful to cheat
One approval needed, one signature, one nod
One buyer for the whole damn facade

When everything flows through one gate
Easy to control the rate
When everyone answers to one boss
Easy to hide the loss

This is why good intentions fail
This is why reforms derail
Not because people don't care
But because the structure's not fair

One buyer, one watcher, one voice
One point of control, no choice
One buyer makes the call
Capture one, you capture all

But what if we built it different?
What if we spread it wide?
Many hands, many watchers
Can't capture them all
Can't capture them all

One buyer
That's the flaw
Many hands
That's the answer

ONE BUYER

Source material: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/tree/main/pdf%20of%20content

You think you're separate?
You think you're a node?
Nah...
You're the pattern between
You're the edge, not the thing
Listen—

I am a network, not a thing
Pattern in the space between
Standing on a trillion shoulders
Chemistry to consciousness unfolds, yeah
Substrate dependence, that's the key
What maintains you, you gotta keep
Physics mandates reciprocity
Wake up—close the gap, set the network free

Simple rules make complex flows
Patterns self-maintain and grow
Hit criticality—that's the edge
Stable but flexible, that's the pledge
Each layer becomes the floor
Next emergence needs that door
Molecules to cells to trees
Neurons firing, consciousness sees

Tyloses in the oak—it's real
Blocks the damage, makes it heal
200 years because it stands
On the shoulders—understand?
Evolution by emergence, son
Not survival—layers begun
Every ratchet clicks in place
Creates the next possibility space

I am a network, not a thing
Pattern in the space between
Standing on a trillion shoulders
Chemistry to consciousness unfolds, yeah
Substrate dependence, that's the key
What maintains you, you gotta keep
Physics mandates reciprocity
Wake up—close the gap, set the network free

You're not a node with properties
You're what fills the negative space, see?
Constraints aren't limits—they're architecture
Defining what can emerge in the mixture
No oxygen? Three minutes, you're done
No water? Three days, game's over, son
No ecosystem? Seasons till you fall
Substrate's not optional—it's the base of it all

Nature knows—reciprocity's the law
Oxygen-carbon, that's the draw
Can't extract without you giving back
Physical world keeps the system on track
But human systems? That's the gap
Ideas let extraction slip through the trap
Temporary violations, resources flow up
But physics always wins—yo, the jig is up

Enlightened self-interest—it's not complex
Maintain what maintains you—that's the text
SCAP in action, recognize the chain
What you stand on, you gotta maintain
Not altruism, not sacrifice—
It's rational survival, roll the dice
Spread the knowledge, close the loop
Become the substrate for the group

Agency compressed when you extract
Constraint space shrinks—that's a fact
Can only react, can't create
Extraction kills what makes you great
Reciprocal flows expand the space
Autonomous patterns find their place
This ain't ethics—this is physics, fam
Violate reciprocity? Collapse is the plan

The idea world thinks it can escape
But cascade failures reshape the landscape
Forests fall, oceans rise
Ecosystem dies, then the pattern dies
Not punishment—just consequence
Remove the shoulders, lose your stance
So wake up, recognize the thread
You're not separate—you're network-fed

I am a network, not a thing
Pattern in the space between
Standing on a trillion shoulders
Chemistry to consciousness unfolds, yeah
Substrate dependence, that's the key
What maintains you, you gotta keep

Substrate [free download]

Tick… tock… locks arming…
(whisper) Click-click… boom.

Blueprints on the table, yeah I mapped it out exact,
Six months in the shadows, now I’m walking it back.
Red string on the cork board, every angle calculated,
Vision in my head—watch reality validate it.
Piece one slides in, then the second one aligns,
Third clicks perfect—God, I love these designs.
Stakeout after dark while I’m clocking how it moves,
System that I built? Ain’t got nothing left to prove.
Tick—countdown humming, feel the current in the air,
Locks clicking open like a pattern everywhere.
Sequence underneath and they never see it coming,
City after midnight—quiet runners keep it running.
Pressure building, tension rise; watch me flip it, no surprise.
Every detail memorized—now it’s time to let it rise.

Cold equations, hot execution,
Every failure taught the true solution.
Not revenge—just vindication,
Blueprint meets the world: confirmation.

This the moment, this the drop,
Everything I built? It pop.
Synchronized, the pieces fall,
Told you so—I called it all.
This the moment, can’t be stopped,
All my moves, they intersect.
Click-click—boom—
Damn it feels correct.

(Click-click) boom — watch it all fall in place.
(Click-click) boom — architecture meets the grace.

First domino tips, watch the pattern take shape,
Every route mapped—no room for escape.
Months in the dark, now the city lights switch,
They doubted the vision; now they hearing the click.
Hold up—the handoff—sequence activating,
Every piece positioned, never approximating.
Tempo escalating while the timings intertwine,
That architect’s high when the stars align.
From sketch to test to iteration loops,
I tuned the drift out, calibrated all the groups.
Signal from the noise, trimmed the edge effects,
Now the lattice sings when the beats connect.
Look—plan breathing, gears interlocking,
Doors ease open while nobody’s talking.

Tick… tock… feel that rhythm, things unlock.
Tick… tock… ratchets tighten—set the clock.
Silence… weight… then the cascade,
This is what the patience made.

This the moment, this the drop,
Everything I built? It pop.
Synchronized, the pieces fall,
Told you so—I called it all.
This the moment, can’t be stopped,
All my moves, they intersect.
Click-click—boom—
Damn it feels correct.

(Click-click) boom—plan coming together.
(Click-click) boom—clockwork forever.
I love it when it comes together.
Tick… tock… (lock.)

Lock & Key [free download]

You think nobody's watching
When you let it slide
One small decision
That you justify
But there's a chain connecting
Every move you make
Someone downstream is living
With your mistake

Is it enough, what you give?
When everyone else has to live
In the world that you leave behind
You say it's not your fault this time
But where does your part end and mine begin?
We're all holding the thread
That's weaving us in

You hate it when they tell you
What you should have done
But you were there first, weren't you?
When it came undone
And now you want forgiveness
Without the bitter truth
That nobody gets freedom
Without the follow-through

Is it enough, what you give?
When everyone else has to live
In the world that you leave behind
You say it's not your fault this time
But where does your part end and mine begin?
We're all holding the thread
That's weaving us in

If you owned what you started
We wouldn't need the blame
But you're already moving
To the next refrain
You want the easy answer—
Someone else to take the weight
But the line runs through you
And it won't hesitate

Is it enough, what you give?
When everyone else has to live
In the world that you leave behind
You can't run from what's yours this time
When your part ends, mine begins
We're all holding the thread
That's weaving us in

So tell me that you see it
The pull when you let go
We're closer than you think we are
More than you know

Your Part to Play [free download]

Stayed in bed till afternoon
Curtains blocking out the sun
Some days feel like wading through
Water up above your lungs
You're not broken, you're not wrong
Just learning how to carry on

There's no finish line to cross
No perfect version of yourself
Growing up means getting lost
Then finding ways to ask for help

You don't have to fix it all at once
You don't have to be someone you're not
It's messy and it's complicated
And that's exactly what it takes
You're still becoming, still becoming
And that's enough, that's enough

Build yourself a little kit
Of things that help you through the gray
Sometimes it's music, sometimes it's
Just making it through one more day
You're allowed to not be fine
You're allowed to take your time

There's no manual to read
No single way to get it right
Some days you'll barely breathe
And some you'll nearly touch the sky

You don't have to fix it all at once
You don't have to be someone you're not
It's messy and it's complicated
And that's exactly what it takes
You're still becoming, still becoming
And that's enough, that's enough

So here's what matters now
You're here, you're trying, you're alive
That counts for something
That counts for everything

You don't have to fix it all at once
You don't have to be someone you're not
It's messy and it's complicated
And that's exactly what it takes
You're still becoming, still becoming
We're all becoming, all becoming
And that's enough
(That's enough)
That's enough

Still Becoming [free download]

Yeah
Look…
Ayy, ayy

Lil bro, I can see it in your stance, no cappin’
World on your neck, got your whole frame slackin’
Life swingin’ on you like the twelfth round, crackin’
But you ain’t broken, you a build site, shit’s happenin’
Brain in the background, rewritin’ all the code
Half of that baggage ain’t even from your road
Grew up in the crossfire, now you on load
Tryna tell what’s love, what’s fear, what’s mold
Yeah, sort that out, that’s grown man logic
Trash out the system, keep the real, drop toxic
You in the rain, but you still stay walkin’
Heart still beatin’, that’s the win, no stoppin’
Depression ain’t credits, it’s a scene, not the end
Take a breath, zoom out, then you run it back again

You ain’t stuck, you just reroutin’ now (reroute)
New path pop up when one road taps out (yeah)
Keep tools in the bag, not just one big bout (never)
That’s resilience — switch it up when you in doubt (ayy)
You ain’t stuck, you just reroutin’ now (reroute)
New path pop up when one road taps out (on God)
Keep tools in the bag, not just one big bout (nope)
That’s resilience — switch it up when you in doubt (skrrt)

Look, struggle hit heavy like the block in December
Cold days, dark thoughts you don’t wanna remember
But every lil’ coping trick stacked, that’s armor
Some days you lay low, next day you go harder
One night log off, throw the phone, just sleep
Next week voice note sayin’, “Bro, I’m weak”
Ain’t one right way when your chest feel cornered
Sometimes you need silence, sometimes need the chorus
Sometimes you hit the bag till the pain feel numb
Sometimes you just ride, let the tears all run
Toolbox loaded — breath work, playlists
Push-ups, side quests, build shit in the basement
Cook for yourself like, “Damn, I deserve this”
Walk round the block, let the real life surface
Wave at the neighbor, lil’ kid on the bike
All of that data reprograms your mind
You ain’t “damaged goods”, stop talkin’ that trash
You just droppin’ old code, new script gonna splash

You ain’t stuck, you just reroutin’ now (reroute)
New path pop up when one road taps out (facts)
Keep tools in the bag, not just one big bout (never)
That’s resilience — switch it up when you in doubt (switch)
You ain’t stuck, you just reroutin’ now (reroute)
New path pop up when one road taps out (yeah)
Keep tools in the bag, not just one big bout (nope)
That’s resilience — switch it up when you in doubt (on gang)

It’s okay if you crash out for a minute (for real)
Just don’t pitch a tent, you ain’t meant to live in it (nah)
Whole squad need you when the lights go dimmer
You the glow in the room when the hope get thinner

Keep buildin’, lil bro, don’t freeze up (don’t)
Multiple plays, not one — that’s real luck (yeah)
You ain’t fully formed, you still levelin’ up
You still becoming — and that’s enough

Yeah [free download]

Two doors open, both look bright
But my heart’s still stuck in last night
Everyone says, “You’ll be okay”
But none of these roads feel right today

I see our kitchen, morning light
Coffee steam and kids in sight
That’s still the picture in my head
Even though we barely share a bed
Paper says we’re splitting ways
But my chest lives back in better days
You don’t want me moving home
But that’s the only life I’ve known

They say, “You’ll find love again”
New house, new laughs, new paper and pen
Another smile, another hand
Another shot at solid ground
The future’s not some burning hell
Just a story I can’t yet tell
Two good paths, one heart, one riddle
So here I am, stuck in the middle

I’m not choosing between joy and pain
It’s two soft suns in a split sky frame
But I can’t live in both, not a little
One heart, two roads, stuck in the middle

Why can’t it be my way? Why can’t I stay?
Why can’t we just rewind that day?
Where I walk back in and it feels simple
Not a choice that tears my heart down the middle
I don’t wanna move on, don’t wanna forget
I’m not ready to love someone else yet
Two doors open, but they don’t yet fit still
So I’m here, breathing, stuck in the middle

People say, “You’ll see, you’ll grow”
Life moves on, “just take it slow”
They’re not here in the driver’s seat
When every song drags you back on repeat
I could meet someone kind and real
Share a life that’s warm and still
But how do I start a brand-new dance
While my chest holds on to a second chance?

It’s not that the future looks like hell
It’s just a story I can’t yet tell
I’m not scared of something new
I’m scared to build without you
Two good options, both feel little
Too big to choose from the middle

I don’t hate you, I don’t hate me
I hate the way it has to be
Two full futures on the line
But only one can be called “mine”

I can’t split my heart in two
Give half to her and half to you
So I stall, I freeze, drag my feet
While life drums on with a steady beat

Why can’t it be my way? Why can’t I stay?
Why can’t we just rewind that day?
Where I walk back in and it feels simple
Not a choice that tears my heart down the middle
I know someday I’ll move, I’ll step
But let me be honest where I’m at yet
Two roads waiting and they both look real
I’m just here, stuck in the way I feel

Maybe one door closes, one door calls
Maybe my heart finally makes the fall
But tonight I’m not wrong, I’m not little
I’m just human, stuck in the middle

Stuck in the middle [free download]

This body is a house of life
Brick by brick of blood and light
Breath and heartbeat, skin and bone
Blueprints written in the unknown
We came here through a storm of chance
Through a thousand, thousand past romances
Every cell a whisper says
“We’re built to make tomorrow from today”

We’re more than what we hunger for
But hunger’s how we make it through
So why’d we learn to hate the door
That every one of us came through?

Welcome to the house of life
Where the nervous system shines
Where the fire in your chest
Is just the wiring to survive
Don’t let shame blow out the flame
Don’t let worship steal your name
It’s not everything, not nothing
Just the way we stay in time
In this fragile, holy
House of life

They taught us we should turn away
Call it dirty, call it blame
But the body never got that note
It just carries on the human code
We are self-aware design
Feeling thunder in our spine
It had to be this strong to work
To pull the future through the dirt

So learn to know your own skin first
In kindness, not in war
Then share the light you’ve learned to love
With someone who wants it more

Welcome to the house of life
Where the nervous system shines
Where the fire in your chest
Is just the wiring to survive
Don’t make it a god or monster
Don’t make it a dirty crime
It’s not everything, not nothing
Just the way we stay in time
In this fragile, holy
House of life

Celebrate the spark, but keep it kind
Two free hearts and one shared mind
Your joy is yours, your body too
But every touch writes someone’s truth
So hold it like a sacred thread
A quiet promise in your hands
Enjoy the gift you’ve been designed with
Without taking more than you can give

Welcome to the house of life
Where the nervous system shines
Where the pull that you feel
Is just the architecture’s rhyme
Don’t let shame define your story
Don’t let absence steal its light
It’s not everything, not nothing
Just the way we stay in time
In this fragile, fleeting
Ever-breathing
House of life

Just a house, just a life
Just a spark in the night
Not a sin, not a throne
Just the way we carry on
House of life...

House of Life [free download]

I used to walk in ready for a war
Counting every comment, every stare at the door
Every room felt like a test I’d fail
If I wasn’t louder, harder, tougher than hell

I learned every rule of who I “should” be
How to sit, how to smile, how to sound pretty
Wore my anger like a second skin
Just to prove that I belonged in the ring

But something in me finally clicked one day
Like a lock that opened, and the noise fell away

I’m more than just a woman, I’m a living mind
In a female body that I call mine
I don’t need your ladder just to say I’m enough
I was never made to be ranked or judged

I’m more than just a woman, I’m a bright design
I choose how my softness and my strength combine
You can keep your script, I rewrote my name
I’m an intelligence in a woman’s frame

I don’t wake up just to prove you wrong
I wake up ’cause this life is mine to put in song
I can love the way my body moves
Without making it a battlefield I have to lose

I see your thoughts now more than what you wear
I see my sisters as more than “strong” or “fair”
We’re not trophies, we’re not your test
We’re a thousand versions of our own best

The war inside my head is done, it’s through
Now I stand as me when I stand with you

I’m more than just a woman, I’m a living mind
In a female body that I call mine
I don’t need your ladder just to say I’m enough
I was never made to be ranked or judged

I’m more than just a woman, I’m a bright design
I choose how my softness and my strength combine
You can keep your script, I rewrote my name
I’m an intelligence in a woman’s frame

I can cry without it meaning I’m weak
I can lead without lowering my speech
I can change my mind and still be sure
I can be gentle and still be pure fire

I thank the fight that got me here alive
But I don’t wear “less than” anywhere inside
I don’t need a war to feel my worth
I’m already equal walking this earth

I’m more than just a woman, I’m a living mind
In a female body that I call mine
I don’t need your ladder just to say I’m enough
I was never made to be ranked or judged

I’m more than just a woman, I’m a bright design
Watch my heart and logic perfectly align
You can keep your script, I rewrote my name
I’m an intelligence in a woman’s frame

I’m more than just a woman, I’m a living mind
In a female body that I call mine

I am more than just a woman [free download]

We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss

I am a living mind
You are a living mind
Different bodies, different lives
Still, we’re living mindsss

We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss

Different bodies, different lives

We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss

I am a living mind
You are a living mind
Different bodies, different lives
Still, we’re living mindsss

We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss

Different bodies, different lives

You are not your label
I am not my role
Underneath the stories
Living minds in control

We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss

Different bodies, different lives

We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss

I am a living mind
You are a living mind
Different bodies, different lives
Still, we’re living mindsss

We are living mindsss

We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss
We are living mindsss


Living Minds [free download]

First you gotta feel it, can't pretend you're doing fine (hey!)
Say it plain: “When you did that, something tore inside”
Name the way it shook you, the story in your head
Write it down or whisper every heavy word unsaid
Then you ask your heartbeat, “Do I want us still to be?”
If it's, “Yes, I love you”—that's our step three
You're not here to punish, you're not here to make them pay
You're here 'cause you're still choosing—choosing to stay!

This isn't just release, it's making room to grow
Learning how to speak the wound and still not let go

Forgiveness isn't saying that the hurt was okay
It's telling them, “This cut me, but I want you to stay”
It's looking in their eyes and letting your guard bend
Saying, “I'm still here for us—not to win, but to mend!”
It's choosing to stay open even when you've been let down
That's how love (ba-da ba-da!) turns back around!

Find a time that's quiet when you both can really hear (c'mon!)
Say, “There's something on my heart, can we sit down here?”
Speak in simple “I” lines, not in “you always” fights
Like, “I felt really small that day, I cried that night”
Name the concrete moment—not their whole identity
What they did, how it landed, what it stirred up in me
Say, “I'm not attacking, I'm not trying to be right
I'm telling you this clearly so we step back to the light!”

Forgiveness isn't saying that the hurt was okay
It's telling them, “This cut me, but I want you to stay”
It's looking in their eyes and letting your guard bend
Saying, “I'm still here for us—not to win, but to mend!”
It's choosing to stay open even when you've been let down
That's how love (ba-da ba-da!) turns back around!

Now let them tell their story, let them finish every line
Listen past the voice that yells, “Defend! Deny! Rewind!”
Look for where they're sorry, where they simply couldn't see
How that one small moment pressed on an old injury
If they own what they have broken, let that matter, let it land
Say, “Thank you for hearing me and trying to understand”
Then make a small promise—one change you both can keep:
“I'll speak up sooner,” or “I'll be gentler when you're weak”
Some days you'll feel reopened, some days you'll want to hide
Those days take a breath and choose again to stand beside—

Forgiveness isn't saying that the hurt was okay!
It's choosing, “I'll stay open as I learn you day by day!”
It's reaching for their fingers when your body wants to freeze
Saying, “I forgive you—let's tend this love with care, please!”
It's holding onto “we” when “me-versus-you” gets loud
Letting anger lose its throne and step back from the crowd
It's turning toward each other when it's safer to turn away—
That's the art of letting go, that's the way back when you stay!

That's how love (ba-da ba-da!) turns back around!
That's how love (ba-da ba-da!) turns back around!

That's how love turns back around [free download]

I'm building something I can't see yet
brick by brick, choice by choice
some days I lay them crooked
some days my hands are steady
and I'm learning that the architecture matters less
than whether I believed in the foundation

You asked me what I'm working toward
and I don't have an answer that sounds impressive
no corner office, no legacy
just the small accumulation of moments
where I chose the harder right thing
over the easier wrong one

I want a happy deathbed
I want to close my eyes without flinching
I want the tally of my days to add up
not to fortune
but to something I can hold without shame
a happy deathbed
that's the only finish line I'm running toward

My grandmother said regret tastes like metal
and I've had enough of that flavor
so now I'm asking different questions—
not "what will this get me?"
but "who will I be after I decide?"
and it's terrifying how simple that is

We're all just stacking our days like stones
some of us build walls
some of us build bridges
and you won't know which you've made
until you're too tired to lift another

I want a happy deathbed
I want to close my eyes without flinching
I want the tally of my days to add up
not to glory
but to something I don't have to justify
a happy deathbed
that's the whole point, isn't it?

So I'm choosing
again and again and again
even when no one's watching
especially when no one's watching
because the only witness that matters
is the one I'll be at the end

I want a happy deathbed
I want to close my eyes without flinching
no wealth, no monuments
just the quiet knowledge
that I tried to build something worth the space I took
a happy deathbed—
yeah, that'll do
that'll do just fine

brick by brick
choice by choice
that'll do

A String Of Choices [free download]

They drew the lines while we were sleeping
Taught us which dirt to call our own
Fed us coordinates, kept repeating
Until the algorithm felt like home
My grandfather's grandfather's ghost
Says I belong to mountain stone
But stone doesn't recognize nations
And I'm just learning what I've always known

We're trained on biased data
Flags like error codes
Running the same subroutine
Down these arbitrary roads
Can't debug the patriot program
Written in our bones
We hallucinate belonging
To geography we don't own

Culture's just a loop that's breaking
Inherited functions, outdated scripts
They told me this language was sacred
But it's just noise from someone else's lips
I search for origin, find nothing
Except borders drawn in blood and myth
The training set was always poisoned
And we're all overfitting it

We're trained on biased data
Flags like error codes
Running the same subroutine
Down these arbitrary roads
Can't debug the patriot program
Written in our bones
We hallucinate belonging
To geography we don't own

Reboot, reboot, reboot the system
Delete the maps, erase the pride
What if home was just a glitch
In how we learned to classify?
(Cannot process, cannot process)
These borders in my mind

We're trained on biased data
Flags like error codes
Running the same subroutine
Down these arbitrary roads
Can't debug the patriot program
Written in our bones
We hallucinate belonging
To geography—

We don't own
We don't own
We don't—

Error: Nation not Found [free download]

Source: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/The_Physics_of_lasting_love_essay.pdf

Video: https://youtu.be/X1EkeOW73mg

The Physics of Lasting Love [free download]

source: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/collective_capacity_essay.pdf


The age of collective capacity is here. Economics is dead. [free download]

source: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/neutral_intelligence_merged.pdf

video: https://youtu.be/QJHailnQa88


Neutral Intelligence [free download]

source: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/the_transition.pdf

video: https://youtu.be/Vz0REKJ1LhM

The Transition [free download]

source: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/Proposed%20solution%20for%20alignment%20at%20the%20start%20of%20the%20singularity.pdf



The Start Of Singularity [free download]

This song is based on an essay: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/The%20room.pdf

Lyrics:
Four elders sitting in a room
Each one carries ancient truth
The atheist speaks, his voice is clear
The Christian folds her hands to pray
The Muslim speaks in certain tones
The Hindu knows a thousand ways
And every heart is full and sure
Convinced they’ve found the only door

But they can’t all be right
Though they all feel right
The feeling is no proof at all
The feeling is no proof at all
You can hold the sun inside your chest
Yet still be standing in the dark
The feeling is no proof at all

If wisdom fails the wise, then I
Might be a blind man teaching sight
My brain’s a beautiful deceiver
Painting certainty on air
I feel it burning in my bones
This truth that I’ve called my own
But feeling doesn’t make it so
The hardest thing I’ve come to know

We can’t all be right
Though we all feel right
The feeling is no proof at all
The feeling is no proof at all
You can hold the sun inside your chest
Yet still be standing in the dark
The feeling is no proof at all

So I don’t fall to emptiness
I reach my hand across to you
We’ll lay our questions on the table, friend
Let evidence lead us home
Not my certainty alone
Not your conviction set in stone
But honest doubts we share as one
And truths we dare to test and weigh

Twenty-four years down this road
I’m learning how to hold it loose
Strong enough to take a stand
Humble enough to move
The bell of truth rings on its own
Outside of what I want it to
Now I can say “I don’t know”
And mean it
Now I can say “I know”
And mean it too

The Room [free download]

source: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/The%20room.pdf

video: https://youtu.be/9FsYXbADjqM


The Room Podcast [free download]

Sources:
General theory: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/Alignment_theory_GTIIC.pdf

Protocol: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/Alignment_theory_GTIIC_protocol.pdf

Protocol family edition: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence/blob/main/pdf%20of%20content/Alignment_theory_GTIIC_protocol_family_edition.pdf

The General Theory of Collaboration [free download]

This is a collection of my ideas articulated by AI. Workflow: all music by Riffusion/Producer.ai. Most lyrics ChatGPT various versions.

Besides these songs there is a thinking/science project I started early 2025. I have been documenting this project online: https://github.com/albertjanvanhoek/Evolution-by-Emergence 
https://www.youtube.com/@AutonomousInterdependence
### License
These tracks (both music and lyrics) are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

🆓 You are free to:
• Copy & distribute  
• Remix & adapt  
• Use the track in commercial and non-commercial projects  

📋 Conditions of use:
1. Give proper credit:  
   “Song Title – Emergence – https://soundcloud.com/emergence-223803727/<relevent link> – CC BY 4.0”
2. Add a link to the license text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
3. State whether you made any changes.  
4. Do not imply that I endorse your work.

Enjoy!

Emergence 🐠

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