All life exists in constant flux, never remaining the same even for a moment.
Genes, bodies, even consciousness—everything quietly and ceaselessly transforms.
It is an unending act of creation.


I analyzed my own genome’s exome. The exome is the region of the genome that carries the blueprints for proteins—an essential part that determines an organism’s form and function. Although the human genome consists of about 3 billion base pairs, the exome comprises only roughly 30 to 60 million base pairs, or about 1–2% of the whole. In this analysis, about 270,000 variants were found, of which around 10,000 were related to amino acid changes. However, I have no way of judging whether that number is large or small.
These were identified by comparison against the human reference genome, but that reference sequence is merely a “standard” constructed from the combined sequences of multiple individuals. No one knows what the “correct form” of a human is. In fact, such a “correct form” does not even exist.

DNA has accumulated mutations while adapting to its environment, passing from generation to generation. Perhaps my variants were continuously inherited from my ancestors, or perhaps they arose at some point during the passage of generations, or they might be due to environmental factors. In this way, life has remained connected endlessly over long stretches of time, even as its forms change. Mutations give rise to different amino acids, and new proteins are born. Those proteins determine life’s forms, which then continue to change and be passed along. Yet there too, there is no “correct answer.” Is living a long life the right thing, or is adapting to one’s environment the right thing—such values themselves are always in flux within the flow of life.

People often try to classify life by things like lineage or species differences. But mutations accumulate continuously, and life is never a fixed entity. Criteria like reproductive isolation, morphology, genetic information, and evolutionary lineage—these are all just conveniences that slice life’s complex flow into a “still frame” for naming purposes. In reality, evolution is continuous, with no boundaries, and there is no moment when an individual “becomes a new species.” The difference between one species and another is merely the accumulation of different mutations over a long period of time.

Humans, too, are beings in flux. From distant ancestors to descendants, no two humans are the same. Individuality is a one-of-a-kind flow born from slight genetic differences interacting with the environment. My existence is but a momentary appearance in this world, woven into life’s current. Moreover, while living, we tend to regard “self” as a fixed framework, but cells are constantly renewing, and the body changes with time. Thoughts transform through experiences. Today’s “I” is not the same as yesterday’s “I.” Even genetic information continues to mutate bit by bit. Genes express themselves through interactions with the environment, and memories and experiences rewire synapses in the brain. In this way, we are in constant change.

Just as life continues to change, the society humans build is not fixed either. Just as life adapts to its environment, society also changes its form over time. It resembles an organic living thing, accumulating mutations and adapting while continuing on. Human consciousness transforms, and society remains in flux. Society has survived by adapting its values, structures, and culture to the environment and era. So then, what is the “rightness” we seek? Just as “rightness” is an illusion in life, is the “rightness” of society also like a “still frame” that captures only a moment?

DNA has evolved through unceasing mutations. Life itself does not seek a “correct form,” but chooses to “keep changing.” The exome’s mutations indicate that continual change is the essence of life. No “correct form” exists. We change little by little according to our environment and experiences, and that change gives rise to new “individuality.” And that individuality itself also changes. And once again, the environment and society surrounding us also transform.

I am ever-changing. There is no correct answer in that.