Enjoying the view from Limbo
From a student who likes to fire random “meaning of life” questions at me, I received an e-mail with this reflection: Even if I will die tomorrow, is it meaningful for me to learn something? If not, I don’t want to. My reply: To learn is to improve your soul. So your question also means, “Even if I will die tomorrow, is it...
The number one requirement for any serious intellectual growth is time alone — a lot of it. The thoughtful young person, full of the self-doubt of ignorance and always worried about disapproval and rejection, needs the freedom to stretch out and wander without fear of continually running into walls of social stigma and ridicule. School seeks to occupy this young person’s days with...
Arrive faster, and fatter. Work longer to pay for the luxury of getting to work more efficiently. Race unaffected past a year’s worth of interesting potential observations each day. Do a hundred transient and inconsequential things in the time it would have taken you to do just one meaningful thing in the old days. Accomplish thousands of tasks without having to go through...
Expecting good from someone is the fastest way to be disappointed — and also the best way to discover a good person. Many people will let us down, to be sure. A rare few will not. You will never find the few unless you are brave enough to face and withstand the many. Not expecting good from anyone is the easiest way to...
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