it seems the essence of agape is the will to share one's happiness without condition, and that requires a bottomless happiness as prerequisite, and thus not contingent on reciprocation, on belonging, understanding. Other loves in comparison seem to come as bondage, or trades in counterfeits: "I taught myself the only way to vaguely get along in love Is to like the other slightly less than you get in return"

loved this one -- there seems to be a murky line with worship and fictional dunbar's numbers. Though maybe receiving worship is a burden, beyond social convention. That it is for the worshipper's own salvation & meaning, to find grounding and the will to go on. This causes the "dehumanizing" phenomenon to idols, for example: their fans do not want a human but a dollish cultivated image, as a pillar to their existence

perfection is possible (surely just by the logic of a dualistic world) and ought to be strived for -- to not strive for perfection is to resign oneself to, essentially, a dead end of existence and thus insanity sets in

force Is the end all be all: all our funny societal patchings are there to prevent it, but deep down all humanity fundamentally respects violence and the power to enact it

one interesting theme to explore, though tangential here, is how sometimes the lie "eclipses" the truth; that is, becomes/feels "more real" than "reality"