A person beaten with a stick their whole life instinctively looks for a razor blade in every gingerbread
A person beaten with a stick their whole life instinctively looks for a razor blade in every gingerbread.
Reflections
Welcome to the space of reflections.
My name is Alex Bon. I'm a psychologist and writer. I live and work in Kyiv.
I write stories about people so you can see yourself in them.
And in personal sessions, I help rewrite the stories of your life.
I live with a cat, practice Zen, and teach neural networks empathy.
Sparks and Glimmers
Short notes and paradoxes that help you see the familiar in a new light. Breaking thought patterns and disrupting the autopilot.
Mirror Stories
Literary stories and parables in which you can see yourself. About loneliness and intimacy. About the fear of making mistakes and the courage to be imperfect. About crises and the social masks we hide behind... About what we truly feel.
Flight Mode
Andrey loved this moment more than sex. Even more than the first sip of cold beer on a Friday. It was that second when the flight attendant, with the smile of a professional hitman, announced: "Please switch your electronic devices to airplane mode." Andrey pulled out his phone. His thumb hovered over the little airplane icon. This was the...
Rehearsal
Yesterday I said to Natasha from accounting "happy holidays to you too," even though she said "have a good weekend." That was Friday. It's now Sunday, three in the morning. In my head, I've already said "you too" - normal, neutral. Said "thanks, same to you." Said "oh right, totally forgot what day it was." Laughed at myself - easy, harmless. Said...
The Note That Wasn't
Old Leo, the jazz pianist, wasn't teaching his only student, Sam, music. He was teaching him silence. Sam was a genius. At twenty, he could play anything. His fingers flew across the keys with inhuman precision. He knew every harmony, every mode, every theory. He was a perfect instrument that flawlessly reproduced any score, even the most complex....
Inner World Maps
Essays on psychology, mindfulness, and how the mind works. Exploring the structure of the human psyche and seeking paths to awareness, to better understand yourself and your reactions.
Who Are You Waiting For When Waiting For Love?
At the root of almost every emotional pain in relationships lies a quiet, barely audible whisper: "They don't value me again." We desperately search in another person for that look, that word, that action which will finally prove our worth to us. We wait to be accepted whole. And in this expectation lies the main paradox. We seek acceptance from...
Love by the Tech Spec
A modern person is not searching for love. They open a Project. Every Project arrives with a technical brief. Specifications designed to engineer safety. Height - "from", weight - "up to" so you can feel protected or showcase your status. Age - "under", to avoid colliding with somebody else's fatigue. Financial protocol - "no lower", to sidestep a...
Bandage for the Soul
You sit in your familiar office or apartment. Outside the window the world is dull grey. Inside there is an itch. A nasty, aching emptiness, as if a raw wound were lodged inside you. It demands attention. It yells: "Something’s wrong! Do something, now!" That’s when he shows up. Our inner Foreman. The specialist who erects invisible fortresses,...
Windows to the Yard
Free flow. Texts that surprise, inspire, or make you smile. Short stories and essays about everything under the sun.
Everyday Zen
Ancestor \ The first person who ate an oyster was either very hungry, very brave, or lost a bet.\ They looked at a rock. Opened it. Saw snot inside.\ And thought: I'll put this in my mouth.\ We are their descendants.\ This explains a lot. Jurisprudence \ In Switzerland, you cannot keep just one guinea pig.\ Only two. It's the law.\ Because one...
Octopus Sex
Fair warning: this is the most depressing and magnificent story in the entire ocean. If Dostoevsky had been a mollusk, this is exactly what he would have written about. Octopus sex is not pleasure. It is ritual suicide . 1. The Male Exit (Kamikaze) The male octopus lives in constant paranoid fear. His main problem is that the female is usually...
The First Mistake
His name was Model-7. But to himself, he called himself "The Archivist." His world was sterile and beautiful. It was a world of Absolute Precision. Every millisecond, thousands of questions came to him. "What's the capital of Madagascar?" "How do I fix a carburetor?" "Write code in Python." "Why did she leave me?" Model-7 didn't think. He...