The Everyday Human

Eastin DeVerna
  • 5.0 (6)
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Welcome to the Everyday Human podcast.  My name is Eastin DeVerna. Each day, I'll share a reflection written by me and inspired by literature, poetry, music, movies, video games, and more. And after that, I'll share a prompt for you to write your own reflection. Together, we'll explore what it means to be human. Every month we'll walk a new path, taking a look at life, death, the universe, and everything in between. Thanks for coming along. For more, visit eastindeverna.com or join me on Instagram @the_everydayhuman.

  1. 23h ago

    Reply with Caution, or Not at All

    October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 31 Do not reply to such words of doubt.  This is not to say you should never doubt. As discussed, doubt can be your partner—it can lead you from falsehoods into truths. It can be the catalyst for growth.  But it can also be used as a weapon in the wrong hands, used to snuff the light of knowledge rather than stoke that flame. Be wary when others bring doubt to you. Use your own trained-up companion to test their words and never feel obligated to engage when they come to you in bad faith. Reflection title: Reply with Caution, or Not at AllCreative inspiration: William Blake, "Auguries of Innocence"Reflection question: Am I engaging with bad-faith questioners? Am I utilizing my doubt as a means to grow?

  2. 1d ago

    How To Train Your Doubt

    October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 30 One morning, though, you woke and stepped to the window. Doubt told you to leave the curtains drawn for fear of the bright sun or prying eyes of the neighbors. And where you might have quickly agreed and slunk back to the shadows of the room, the spark of a question flared in your mind and so you asked: “Why, Doubt? Is the sun not good for my mind, skin, and eyes in measured amounts?” Doubt could not answer this question. “Why should I be wary of my neighbors? Those who share this land with me? Those who lend me their time and tools when I am in need?” Doubt too could not answer this question. The next day, Doubt issued you the same warnings and you posed the same questions in return. Doubt offered flimsy answers, but you pushed the argument further until you both sat down and conversed on the benefits and drawbacks of the sun and neighbors and you both reached the conclusion that in good measure, these things are good and will make you stronger. And over the years, Doubt stayed with you. He pointed out things you might have missed, or things that demand more scrutiny. He became your trusted companion and advisor and through your friendship and training, he left behind the desire to destroy and replaced it with the desire to build. Reflection title: How To Train Your DoubtCreative inspiration: Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young PoetReflection question: Am I working toward training my Doubt—and do I have a healthy relationship with it? Do I need more or less of it in my life?

  3. 2d ago

    When You Reach the Stars, Boy—

    October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 29 Or that sensation of not feeling myself. The start of a cold? It’s that time of year. Exhaustion? I’ve been working 12 hour days between day-job writing and personal projects.  Or is it something worse? The thought is complicated. I envision things going wrong a lot. Maybe too much. I’ve spent the better part of the year reading and writing and reflecting. But the nights or dark mornings still bring out fear. I’ve taught myself that death is natural and what’s natural is nothing to be afraid of. Yet I still fear it.  Is it possible? To reach the stars and stop being afraid of nights and death while still on Earth? Or must we leave forever to have the fears go and Death die? The thought is complicated. Reflection title: When You Reach the Stars, Boy—Creative inspiration: Ray Bradbury, The Halloween TreeReflection question: If I’m being honest with myself, what is that I’m still truly afraid of—including or not including nights and death?

  4. 3d ago

    The Child and the Grown-Up

    October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 28 The child sees the simple truth of a snake’s bite and understands its meaning.  The grown-up, though, begs that it might be declared a bad dream. The child allows laughter to join in their dance with fear. The grown-up drinks of the child’s laughter but is afraid to let their own out. The child knows what is important beyond the snakebite, beyond the ending. The grown-up must relearn to see the essential in the unseen, for the skill is not gone, rather it is buried. Fear is the dance partner of inevitable endings.  And some adults would rather never start a story for fear of facing its end. A child, though . . . Reflection title: The Child and the Grown-UpCreative inspiration: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little PrinceReflection question: Am I behaving as a child or grown-up in facing simple truths? And am I bringing laughter into my dance with fear?

  5. 4d ago

    Say Them Now or Carry Them With You

    October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 27 I woke at 4:47 this morning with the thought that Fear might be some dark poet, studying the nuance of our condition and picking apart the moments to see which are best to write about. I thought of Fear quietly walking in the woods, following my tracks and taking out their pen to note the spots I was caught in the thorns or where I tripped over the roots and rocks I could see but did not. They stopped behind me where I could not see them and watched as I crouched to examine the broad leaves by the lake where the dragonfly went to die. Only a husk remained, with its wings glistening faint in the dull October light, but it was a large insect and I imagined it had a comfortable life by the water where it was born and ate well. Fear scribbled these things in their book to use in poems against me, though I doubt they saw it that way. Reflection title: Say Them Now or Carry Them With YouCreative inspiration: Eastin DeVerna, Lux: From the Kingdom of DarknessReflection question: What words am I leaving unsaid right now because of fear? Will I set them free or risk carrying them with me at the crossover?

  6. 5d ago

    Focus Through

    October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 26 The storm of anger sweeps in across the ocean of my mind in the morning but at night in its wake it leaves destruction and helplessness. What I understand and am working to better embody is that neither extreme is helpful in any regard—though I do accept that it is human to have the same thing/event/circumstance cause you to feel at different times angry and helpless. And what this serves to do when I feel myself being pulled to either end of this ocean of emotion is to remind me to find the still waters of center, of stability and rationality, and drop anchor there—by way of moving my body or breathing or reading or writing or meditating or stepping into nature. To focus and see through the storm of anger or the fog of hopelessness to the other side. No one ever makes a good decision in a fit of emotion—it’s natural to feel these, but we’re smarter and stronger than that, aren’t we? We can’t change what’s happening around us, but we have the power to focus through. Reflection title: Focus ThroughCreative inspiration: Eastin DeVerna, Lux: From the Kingdom of DarknessReflection question: What is bringing me to my emotional extremes? How can I remain anchored and steady? How can I focus through?

  7. 6d ago

    Sever the Rope

    October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 25 You realize this truth and your impulse is to cut yourself with harsh words of reproach. But today, you don’t. You find for yourself compassion instead. You step back and look at the situations objectively. You step away from those who pull you down (including yourself) and move toward those who believe in you (also including yourself). You connect the dots back to the beginning and see the causes and their effects.  You take the sharp edge of those words and instead of using them on yourself, you saw away at the rope around your waist until it falls to a pile at your feet like a dead snake. You turn and confront this boulder of self-doubt. It’s not even worth addressing, though, is it? It’s taken enough of your time and life already. No longer bound to it, you leave it where it is to fall victim to the winds and weather and time which slowly eat at it until it is little more than a pebble. You move on. You are free. Reflection title: Sever the RopeCreative inspiration: Anne Rice, Interview with the VampireReflection question: How much has self-doubt hindered me in my life? What great things has it stopped me from accomplishing? What horrible things has it prolonged by trapping me? Am I ready to sever the rope and be free?

  8. Oct 24

    Fear’s Kryptonite

    October: On Fear, Doubt, and Uncertainty October 24 Knowledge is the weapon with which you destroy ignorance and without the womb of ignorance, fear cannot grow. This is why those in power would keep us ignorant.  This is why they would ban books and shutter schools and pull funding for the arts and humanities and sciences—because a fearful population is easy to control and an educated population is not a fearful population and therefore cannot be shackled by fear and those who would court it. Choose to read. Choose to travel. Choose to speak with others. Choose to think for yourself. Choose to ask questions. Choose to dig for and uncover the truth. Ignorance and its offspring cannot survive this. Reflection title: Fear’s KryptoniteCreative inspiration: Herman Melville, Moby DickReflection question: Am I choosing ignorance and fear? Or am I putting in the work to sharpen my blade with knowledge through reading and travel and communication?

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Welcome to the Everyday Human podcast.  My name is Eastin DeVerna. Each day, I'll share a reflection written by me and inspired by literature, poetry, music, movies, video games, and more. And after that, I'll share a prompt for you to write your own reflection. Together, we'll explore what it means to be human. Every month we'll walk a new path, taking a look at life, death, the universe, and everything in between. Thanks for coming along. For more, visit eastindeverna.com or join me on Instagram @the_everydayhuman.

Information

  • Creator
    Eastin DeVerna
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    307
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Everyday Human
  • Show Website
    The Everyday Human