If what you care about most of all is that your life have a certain arc, then in travelling along that arc you are moving towards a point at which the arc is complete and your purpose is lost. If you are telling the story of your life, and you hope to avoid the midlife crisis, better not to tell a story of this kind.

In effect, I am urging a philoso

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Well, I mean, choosing a vocation is itself funny, David. Because vocation means literally to be called, that to which one is called. And many people today don’t hear any such calls. So they’re sort of stuck with the cafeteria of this and that. And they are in a position of choosing.I’ve had lots of students come with those questions, as you have a... See more