Human Survival
Field Guide.

FIELD NOTEBOOK / NO ONE RECEIVES AUTHOR IMMUNITY The Mirror Examination

Choose one manageable exchange, including one you handled reasonably well. Write a few lines for each prompt. Use observations and ordinary language; the notebook does not need a confession, a diagnosis or an explanation of every childhood event. Inspect the observer before issuing a verdict. Leave a blank where you do not yet know, and let a later observation remain free to change the page.

What did I want?

Attention, recognition, relief, control, safety, assistance, revenge or certainty? Name the want without turning it into an excuse or a crime. Wanting help does not establish an entitlement to it. Wanting distance does not require a case against the other person.

What did I actually do?

Describe conduct: the request you made, the answer you gave, the task you accepted or the limit you crossed. Keep a quotation separate from your interpretation of it. Which details could another observer check, and which are currently your own account?

Which story made it seem necessary?

What explanation protected your innocence, importance or preferred outcome? Offer one alternative that might fit without pretending it is established. A sincere feeling can be present while the explanation remains incomplete. The Department of Justification may submit a statement; it does not receive the final vote.

What would respect for both people look like?

Choose an available next action: ask, refuse, document, change the arrangement, repair or leave. Make it specific enough to carry out. Respect does not require agreement, unlimited access or forgiveness. Record what you choose and what remains for the other person to choose.

“The purpose is informed choice and voluntary self-correction.”