We live in an information overload age, where dramatic events unfold in society every second. Relying solely on critical thinking may no longer be enough to discern the truthfulness of the information we receive. Technology is advancing at an astonishing pace, and humanity is now forced to coexist with the AI it has created while simultaneously fearing the possibility of being replaced by it in the future. Faced with this contradictory reality, I am reflecting: How should I adapt to this paradoxical future that has already arrived?

Magically, over the past year, I’ve found that when I enter a dream state during sleep, I can perceive and remember my presence within the dream. The experience feels so vivid that upon waking, I’m left with a strong sense of déjà vu; it feels akin to the story in "Zhuangzi – The Adjustment of Controversies“: Once upon a time, Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly. In the dream, he was convinced he was a butterfly, entirely forgetting he had ever been Zhuang Zhou. When he awoke, he became Zhuang Zhou again, with his body and limbs unchanged. Thus, he pondered: Was I the one who dreamt of being a butterfly, or was it the butterfly dreaming of being me?

Perhaps, when the surreal nature of reality has become nearly indistinguishable from fiction, I choose to live in the present instead of anxiously fixating on a future that can no longer be defined by chaos alone.