on life
Already in 1877, Robert Louis Stevenson called busyness a symptom of deficient vitality, and observed a sort of dead-alive, hackneyed people about, who are scarcely conscious of living except in the exercise of some conventional occupation.
Jenny Odell • How to Do Nothing
building a world for yourself creates magnetism in the purest sense
Keep your identity small. “I’m not the kind of person who does things like that” is not an explanation, it’s a trap. It prevents nerds from working out and men from dancing.
“whether to float with the tide, or to swim for a goal”
But what if your purpose is simply to build a good life? To raise kind children. To cook a little better each year. To read a few excellent books. To notice the seasons. To build meaningful relationships. To help others. To give time - and money if you can - to causes you care about.
Pamela Clapp • Why the French Don’t Obsess Over Purpose
The way to greater confidence is not to reassure ourselves of our own dignity; it’s to come to peace with our inevitable ridiculousness
— Alain de Botton in ‘On Confidence’
It is easy to tell how you are doing in life. When you go outside, how beautiful is the flower? That is how you know.
– Brianna Wiest