Thought provoking

Joy is not a function of a life free of friction and frustration, but a function of focus – an inner elevation by the fulcrum of choice.

“The proliferation of devices surrounding us at all times may help us ‘get in touch’ with other people, sure, but they impede our ability to get in touch with ourselves. A ‘touch’ screen would indeed seem to promise something tactile and real, but they leave us cold, tepid and listless. Something is deeply wrong when we sext the same way we order a

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“Walking lets you read the world – and much like the slow, contemplative mental processes involved in reading a book, the pace with which one moves through the world while walking allows for a different, deliberative kind of seeing. You notice more. You think more.”

There has never been a better time in history to be a creative person. More people than ever before have the tools to create, share and earn an income from their art.

And yet, creators are facing more obstacles than ever. Volatile platforms, unpredictable income, difficulty reaching followers... the list goes on and on.

I want to be bored this year. I want to swim in unstructured hours that allow me to catch up with myself, where I can realise thoughts I didn’t know I had; to let my imagination roam and bloom into shapes only possible without the constant distraction of a screen blurring my vision.

Don’t just resist cynicism – fight it actively. Fight it in yourself, for this ungainly beast lies dormant in each of us, and counter it in those you love and engage with, by modeling its opposite. Cynicism often masquerades as nobler faculties and dispositions, but is categorically inferior. Unlike that great Rilkean life-expanding doubt, it is a... See more

“Instantaneous access to everything obviously comes at a cost. The cost being that we all behave like demented Roman emperors, at once bored and deranged, summoning whatever we want at any time.”

Life is hard enough without a handful of filthy-rich assholes sticking their nose into matters that affect our much-less-rich lives. And yet, here they are, on our screens, in our news and in our governments, like a stain on the planet.