With a big-R, it’s a philosophical and artistic movement that served as a counterweight to the Enlightenment by advocating for Idealism (versus Materialism) and spirituality (if not necessarily religiosity.)
With a small-R, it’s the skill or proclivity to advance conditions for amorousness.
That’s why capitalization matters.
There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.
Josh billings
Everything in the universe is a jug
Rumi, Masnavi
filled to the brim with wisdom and beauty.
Poetry is what gets lost in translation.
Robert frost
“Travel and tell no one, live a true love story and tell no one,
Kahlil gibran
live happily and tell no one, people ruin beautiful things.”
Not all those who wander are lost.
J.r.r. Tolkien, The lord of the rings
What are you most worried about for the future?
A global rise in governance by populist authoritarians in which people give up abstract conceptual benefits like checks and balances and rule of law in exchange for the more tangible bread and circuses.
I’m not so concerned about the demographic crises because I think those long-scale issues work themselves out, just as when Malthus predicted the human population was growing too fast and global famine was inevitable.
I’m also not so worried about [G]AI because if we make machines that can crush us, we deserve to be crushed to make way for the new. That said, I think we are at the beginning of a crisis of modernity that will reach its apex when machines can do all productive tasks better than can humans. But, I’m pretty sure I’ll outrun that, and by choosing to focus on the art of being human, it’s not so impactful, personally.
What makes a teacher great?
If students choose the teacher, that is an excellent first indicator. In the typical top-down selection of teachers, it is easy to produce an abundance of shitty teachers. Of course, there is still the danger of charismatic bullshitters and easy people-pleasers, problems ever-present. But among students (as opposed to followers) they usually reveal themselves in time.
For over a decade now, I’ve lived with two seasons: dry and monsoon. I’d have to give the edge to dry, but the hot bit of the dry season has its own challenges.
Where there are four seasons, I tend to favor those in the Goldilocks Zone (not too hot & not too cold — i.e. Spring & Fall.)
All that being said, as a matter of philosophy, I try my best to avoid having favorites.
I turned to speak to God
About the world’s despair;
But to make bad matters worse
I found God wasn’t there.
God turned to speak to me
(Don’t anybody laugh)
God found I wasn’t there—
At least not over half.
What’s the one luxury you can’t live without?
Luxuries, by definition, can be done without.
A tourist looks back fondly upon
A favorite destination;
A traveler is always at it.
A tourist loathes travel hiccups;
A traveler calls them stories.
A tourist jumps from one
Postcard vista to the next;
A traveler moves through the world.
A tourist collects knicknacks & geegaws;
A traveler collects experiences.
A tourist, between sights, seeks
A life experience as close to
Their homelife as possible.
A traveler wants a life experience
As close to local as possible.
A tourist has a favorite meal;
A traveler assumes he hasn't
Crossed paths with it yet.
A tourist leaves nothing to chance;
A traveler embraces the spontaneous.
A tourist takes comfort as a main course;
A traveler uses it like a condiment.
…we should not be too confident in our belief of anything.
cicero; tusculan disputations
No matter what plans you make,
Rumi; Mathnawi II
no matter what you acquire,
the thief will enter from the unguarded side.
Be occupied, then, with what you really value
and let the thief take something less.
Very little is needed to make a happy life;
Marcus aurelius; Meditations
it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.
I possess, but I am not possessed by her;
aristippus [according to Diogenes laertius in
since the best thing is to possess pleasures
without being their slave,
not to be devoid of pleasures.
lives of the eminent philosophers]
Do not fear the gods.
philodemus; Herculaneum papyrus
Do not fear death.
What is good is easy to attain.
What is painful is easy to endure.
[Often referred to as the four cures of epicurus]
List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?
Steven Kotler’s The Rise of Superman changed the way I looked at mind-body development.
Water Margin [a.k.a. Outlaws of the Marsh] convinced me a sprawling epic could be worth reading if it was done well, it kicked my love of Chinese Literature into high gear, and it started me on the path of learning Chinese.
Self-Reliance and Other Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson had a major influence on my early philosophical development — especially the titular essay.
Now, I’m thinking I should’ve pushed one of these out for Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, but perhaps another time.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 