Have you ever contemplated the journey from existential terror to awe and wonderment, in response to this incredible life? Have you personally traveled that path? Each morning, YOU wake up full of possibilities. YOU are absolutely teeming with unbridled potential. Has anyone ever told you that? Do you realize what a gift that is? Have you… Continue Reading
the subjective perspective of an analytical optimist
Tag Archives: philosophy
Sweet Darkness
Earlier today, I was thinking about apocalyptic moments. My life is teeming with those instances of surreal hyper-awareness. Visual stimuli, audio input, self-inflicted emotional strain, and the rhythmic oscillations of sinusoidal energy waves often overwhelm me. I've said before that my life is a perpetual existential crisis. Though a bit of an exaggeration, it's quite true. Each day I feel as if I'm tumbling into… Continue Reading
On Cages, Freedom, and Taking Flight
This is just want I always wanted…but maybe it’s not what I truly want. Have you ever experienced that? You find exactly what you’ve always hoped for, your on-paper ideal, and then realized that maybe thinking you know what you want doesn’t mean a thing? I’ve spent the past several weeks exploring the same insidious… Continue Reading
My Life is a Perpetual Existential Crisis
“Is there something? Is there anything? Is there any evidence of something? Any signs that there’s more to life that the sum of its subatomic particles – some larger purpose, some deeper meaning, maybe even something that would qualify as “divine” in some sense of the word?” – Robert Wright, The Evolution of God Those are… Continue Reading
Life as a Social Experiment
Life is about making the most of your day-to-day life and about slowly transforming into your best self. Or is it? Over the past several months, I’ve read and been enthralled by the stories of individuals who have drastically transformed their day-to-day lives, if only temporarily. Whether tackling 52 job in 52 weeks, traveling the world solo without a plan, or… Continue Reading
Some Advice for Life
I was recently contacted by one of my readers, a young college student looking for ideas of things to do with her life other than study and party. Inspired by some of the things I’ve said, she thought maybe I could share my perspective and help her improve her life. Although my email response to… Continue Reading
A Wish
“If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of potential — for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints; possibility never.” – Soren Kierkegaard… Continue Reading
Scattered Wisdom
A field may contain a million sunflowers, but there will be one or two that may stand out in your mind – the tallest, the brightest, the fullest, the one that stands alone. However, another sunflower may catch the eye of your friend. Gather a large enough group and the entire field may be claimed.… Continue Reading
Creating a better world
The strength and resolve necessary to create a better world is not found in analysis and calculation nor enduring efforts, but rather in the empowering emotion that calls us to love, beauty, and truth. The immediately grasped, emotionally moving ground out of which all things arise – the aesthetic component of our experience – beckons… Continue Reading