the transitoriness of our existence in no way makes it meaningless. But it does constitute our responsibleness; for everything hinges upon our realizing the essentially transitory possibilities.
Viktor E. Frankl • Man's Search for Meaning
the transitoriness of our existence in no way makes it meaningless. But it does constitute our responsibleness; for everything hinges upon our realizing the essentially transitory possibilities. Man constantly makes his choice concerning the mass of present potentialities; which of these will be condemned to nonbeing and which will be actualized?
Viktor E Frankl • Man's Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust
To try to do two nearly impossible things at once - understand ourselves as limited by circumstances and yet continue to pursue our projects as if we are truly in control.
The very notion of transience is fundamental to human experience. Yet death seems bad for us because it deprives us of what we instinctively want: permanence. We want to extend our projects into the future, at least for now, at least until this or that is completed, and so on for as long as we take interest in anything we do. Yet the very fuel that
... See moreDerren Brown • Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine
This notion that fulfillment might lie in embracing, rather than denying, our temporal limitations
Oliver Burkeman • Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
The average human lifespan is absurdly, terrifyingly, insultingly short. But that isn’t a reason for unremitting despair, or for living in an anxiety-fueled panic about making the most of your limited time. It’s a cause for relief. You get to give up on something that was always impossible—the quest to become the optimized, infinitely capable, emot
... See moreOliver Burkeman • Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
What does it mean for a human being to be? (I realize this is starting to sound like a bad comedy sketch about philosophers lost in wild abstractions. I’m afraid that’s going to get worse for another couple of paragraphs before it gets better.) His answer is that our being is totally, utterly bound up with our finite time. So bound up, in fact, tha... See more