Tag Archives: Philosophy of Life

PROMPT: Principles

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What principles define how you live?

Before traveling, empty my cup. Before returning home, empty my cup.

Collect experiences, not geegaws.

Wishing for the world to be some other way is a grand waste of time.

If there is a river flowing toward where I want to be, surrender to it.

See humor everywhere, especially in myself.

Be content with who I am at the moment, while struggling to be a better version in future editions.

Strive to find the non-adversarial path.

Keep looking until I see what is beautiful in all things and creatures.

Don’t attempt to construct anyone else’s list of principles to live by.

Feel the sensations that arise without letting the mind amplify them out of proportion.

Seek only simple pleasures, enjoy them fully, and then move on.

PROMPT: Putting Off

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What have you been putting off doing? Why?

I’m putting off death for as long as I can remain healthy (by and large.) Because I like living.

PROMPT: Million Dollars

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Daily writing prompt
If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?
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THE POOR.

PROMPT: Guaranteed

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What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.

Cast a magic spell? Everything I know of in this world comes with no such guarantee — at least anything worth one’s time. It’d be better to spend one’s time learning to thrive under uncertainty.

FIVE WISE LINES [October 2025]

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Gwalior Fort on Gopachal Hill in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

I had better never see a book
than to be warped by its attraction clean out of my own orbit,
and made a satellite instead of a system.

ralph waldo emerson; The american scholar

Free should the scholar be, — free and brave.

Ralph waldo emerson; The American Scholar

If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it is lethal.

Paulo coelho

What you’re supposed to do when you
don’t like a thing is change it.
If you can’t change it,
change the way you think about it.
Don’t complain.

Maya angelou

No man ever steps in the same river twice,
for it’s not the same river
and he’s not the same man.

Heraclitus

BOOK: “The Virtues of the Table” by Julian Baggini

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The Virtues of the Table: How to Eat and ThinkThe Virtues of the Table: How to Eat and Think by Julian Baggini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Granta

This book examines the nexus of food and philosophy, from the ethics of butchery to the virtue of authenticity to whether hedonism is a necessary component of eating philosophically. Much of the book challenges or debates conventional wisdoms such as whether local foods are inherently better, whether dining is always and everywhere a social activity (or should be,) and whether organic is always preferable. The book covers a wide variety of topics including: mindfulness, gratitude, skepticism, fasting, willpower, spontaneity, technology, etc.

The book offers many ideas for reflection though sometimes it felt like it rambled on for more than the issue in question necessitated.

Each chapter ends with a discussion of a particular food and its preparation as thought relevant by the author. This is a nice grounding mechanism for discussion that tends otherwise to be cerebral and philosophic.

I’d recommend this book for anyone interested in thinking more about food and its intersection with philosophy of life.

View all my reviews

PROMPT: Lost All Possessions

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What would you do if you lost all your possessions?

I’d like to think that I’d keep on keeping on, and I try to cultivate the mindset to do so, but –having never experienced it — I can’t honestly say.

PROMPT: Changed Mind

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What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?

Oh so many things over the years. The biggest / most fundamental being the likeliness of the existence of a god or gods. The smallest being the relative appeal of toast.

PROMPT: Skill

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What skill would you like to learn?

FREEDIVING.

PROMPT: Pay More Attention

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What details of your life could you pay more attention to?

Mental states and somatic & emotional sensations. Sakshi Bhava is good stuff.