• I’m tough because I give a shit What makes someone tough? Strong in the face of adversity? Emotionally sturdy? My literary crush David Brooks (catch up on my previous posts on him here and here) touches on this topic quite a bit. Recently in the New York Times he flagged the idea that emotional sturdiness “happens”. That is, we’re not born with it. more
• The secret to a good life? Hunt down difficulty I’ve read about the work of philosopher Martha Nussbaum for a while. She’s one of the most prolific thinkers around. Nussbaum has published 24 books, 509 papers and received 57 honorary degrees. Last month she won the Kyoto Prize, the most prestigious award offered in fields not eligible for a Nobel. And so on, so more
• This is the goal of the human experiment Bite on this and chew it: “You will be civilised on the day you can spend a long period doing nothing, learning nothing, and improving nothing, without feeling the slightest amount of guilt.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Reader Leonie shared this with me following my post about my time in an Ayurvedic clinic in India more
• what struggle do you want in your life? I have a friend. Let’s call him Dick. He’s a challenge. But then so am I. But the thing is, the more he’s a challenge, the more I love him. I have to struggle at times to hold his energy, to ride his emotions, to apologise to the waiters that he’s rude to. But the more
• Don’t despair if your daily habits are drabbing you out I know a lot of people can feel trapped in their daily routine. And then get sad that they’re missing out and that their life has become ho-hum. I know many parents feel this way – everything has to be slotted into a schedule that repeats each day, each week. And office workers who have more
• Each ordinary day, are you doing what satisfies you. Or….? We are odd creatures. We often engage in what torments us. Witness the hours we spend toggling on social media. And we chase the future (fretting, planning) and pause in the past (lamenting and being angry), when we know that being present is what brings us joy. And, then, to get even further away from more
• Another benefit of doing nothing for four weeks On my recent post in which I announced I was off on a break (to India) to try the art of doing nothing, reader Leonie shared the below quote in the comment section (thx Leonie!). “You will be civilized on the day you can spend a long period doing nothing, learning nothing, and improving nothing, without more
• Have you contemplated the “Hard Problem” yet? When I was 21 I got a scholarship to study philosophy at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I arrived with my mountain bike and a passion for German existentialism, lived with five lesbians and their eight cats and convinced the university to let me do their graduate course instead of the undergraduate stream. They relented and I more
• Some advice for anyone who’s recently left a relationship English poet and philosopher David Whyte was once called on to give a friend some advice. This friend was in the middle of leaving a relationship. I’ve been there – in the position of counsel. Mostly it takes me straight back, like riding down a razor blade, to the times I’ve had to leave love myself. I don’t more
• things feeling shit-full? it’s ok… I read The Art of Possibility a few years ago. It’s an odd book..I’m not sure that I get it entirely. But I like the way it’s sprinkled with little lessons, like this one below. It’s very much a “just because” read with no apology given for it’s odd format. Anyway. The lesson: Four young more