things to say in the face of paradox
“Sometimes life feels a certain way that we call “absurd”: nothing matters, all efforts are for naught, everything seems random and perverse, positive intention is perpetually thwarted. This stance communicates darkness and edginess, which can feel like wisdom. But we don’t live as if life is absurd; we live as if it has meaning and makes sense. We
... See moreThe monolithic uncertainty of my future was deadening; everywhere I turned, the shadow of death obscured the meaning of any action. I remember the moment when my overwhelming unease yielded, when that seemingly impassable sea of uncertainty parted. I woke up in pain, facing another day—no project beyond breakfast seemed tenable. I can’t go on, I
... See morePaul Kalanithi • When Breath Becomes Air
You may think: What’s happened? Good God, are they kidding? But it is a rule of life, alas, that nobody is kidding.
Andrew Sean Greer • Less Is Lost (The Arthur Less Books Book 2)
I made a decision a long time ago that if I want creativity in my life—and I do—then I will have to make space for fear, too. Plenty of space. I decided that I would need to build an expansive enough interior life that my fear and my creativity could peacefully coexist, since it appeared that they would always be together.
Elizabeth Gilbert • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Your psyche demands novelty for progress, but most people get theirs from the endless sources of instant cheap pleasures. Exploring the unknown is how you live in accordance with nature.
Dan Koe • The Art of Focus: Find Meaning, Reinvent Yourself and Create Your Ideal Future
“I just don’t know”
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