Tag: philosophy
-
Nothing is mappable
Looking back, as if all the traits were heritable and therefore traceable. But nothing is so mappable. We contain a bundle of qualities that shift with time. As life goes on, what’s inherited yields to different flavors of personality. As Henry James put it, “Nothing is my last word on anything.” A new challenge is […]
-
Collecting and craft
Friction is the great stabilizer. We need just enough technology to enable creation while constricting our attention to the gusts of other content. The emergence of shiny new apps and devices often throws our work into disarray. Sometimes it’s the basic pen and paper (typewriter, anybody?) is all that’s required to induce focus. The same […]
-
A simulation of self
The neural synchronization between individuals — we can talk to each other without saying a word. The brain emits answers, and humans reap the rewards of non-confrontation. Silence is a form of communication. What we can’t signal is the reflection of our unexamined desires. Such remain hidden in the caverns of the dormant self, the […]
-
The great gambling game
The full functionality captivates its players, keeping them coming back with the intent of trying to conquer it. The game of life poses the most rhetorical question. And it behooves us to answer its frustrating riddle rather than be tricked into combating it. Whether we ruminate about the past or worry about the future, it’s […]
-
Above the rim
The imitative instinct drives one into a field of copycats. It doesn’t take a miracle to mimic previous forms produced by someone else. But it does take a lot of courage to be different. If one gets lucky, magic will cluster together with the advantage of creativity, discovery, and innovation. One is at their best […]
-
The free-acting individual
Anonymity is a blessing in disguise. There’s a lot of pretense in signaling past accolades. Success in one role inhibits the other. People like to put gems in boxes to store them away for safekeeping down the road. But identities change, and plans evolve because people are elastic. The great mismatch is how others perceive […]
-
The probable oddity
Her look went beyond centuries, but so did her footwork. She demanded to stand out in a sea of sameness, to dive in a forest of waves rather than swim in the treadmill of pools. As society hallows each of us out, we must try harder to excavate a sense of special pride. Having first […]
-
Stripping away the camouflage
Some people are like the octopus: changing with haste to match their surroundings, only to hide and rage into their naked quirks when they return home. One cannot define the individual, where the inner current of uniqueness strikes the soul with the utmost transparency, no camouflage. Hiding from one’s self is for the fakers. The […]
-
Thinking with a helping hand
The ideas get imposed and go unquestioned as people accept them with automatic comprehension. But it’s those that can remain detached from the concept of sidedness that steer their own path. We have to create our roadshow. One of the most powerful draws of individualism is high efficacy, the belief in constructing one’s thought and […]
-
Putting a dent in persistent novelty
Novelty is the sugar of our existence. It’s what keeps us coming back for more. And technology is at the center of its stickiness. Information is a click away; Twitter and Instagram offer more curated entertainment than we could ever access. The internet never ends with each refresh, like pulling the lever at a casino […]
-
Observing closely
Completely forgettable, conclusively forgotten. Things disappear with the disattention of time. We bear witness to that which genuinely sticks, the imagination included. Memory is plentiful when we pursue life with intent. Paying attention costs little. Staying excited is the hard part. When we look at things with curiosity, the dynamics change. Perspective encourages a deeper […]
-
Becoming pain tolerant
Surrender to the pain and see the growth. Capitulation converts supposed weakness into emotional endurance over time, providing an antidote to the stress caused by the resistance. Ruing the past, fighting the future — worrying is as aimless as punching the air. The courage of moving on is a form of alchemy, a fancy way […]