Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us

Where we choose to live is about more than which place has better weather, better job opportunities, better options for day trips, better local food, and so on. Where we live is about who we are and not just what we experience.

You have a child because it makes your entire life richer even if it makes your bank account poorer.

Living like an artist means being open to discovery about the world and about yourself.

But an alternative is to value friendship independently of how rewarding it is, as an essential part of your being.

The fear that we’re settling can paralyze us—it can be an excuse to not make any decision at all.

Wearing a robot baby tells you something about the costs of being a parent. It tells you nothing about how your sense of self changes if you have a child and how that in turn affects how you experience life.

But for many who voted “leave” and for many who voted “stay,” the issue that mattered most wasn’t the question of the narrow utilitarian issues revolving around their standard of living.

There may be a reason for the practice that you cannot appreciate.

These questions don’t have answers. They’re not problems to be solved but mysteries to be experienced, tasted, and savored.